/') 




Class _i.6-^Jil 

Book _^jVLl 

m' 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 



Complete Works of W. H. H. Murray 

NATIONAL EDITION 
VOL. VIII 



HOW I AM EDUCATING 
MY DAUGHTERS 



OR A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT CAN 

EASILY BE DONE IN DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR LOVED ONES 

BY PARENTS AT HOME 



JBritiate SInjStructor!* to t|>e "Cbittiren of tf)t fting 



" Our children are God's children, not ours only, and given us to 
train for Him. As their Teachers, we teach ourselves more than 
we teach them." — Beecher 



[;NEW EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED] 



Copyright, 1902 
By William Henry Harrison Murray 

GUILFORD, CONN. ' / 



All rights reserved 



THE LilRAftY ®F 
GOiMGSESS, 

Two Copiee f-iEceive* 

Mm fi'~1902 

OUAS8«-XXo. No. 
COPY Q. 



Press o/ The Case, Lockwood dr' Brainard Co., Hart/ord, Conn, 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I Object of Education, ... 7 

II The System of Education now in 
Vogue Briefly Examined and 
Condemned, ..... 23 

III The Family Hour, .... 29 

IV The Spiritual Education of Chil- 

dren, ...... 36 

V Chess as a Substitute for Higher 

Mathematics, .... 98 

VI The Americanization of the Com- 
mon School System, . . . 128 

VII Proverbs and Wise Sayings of 

Many Peoples, .... 136 

VIII Need and Value of a Good Vocab- 
ulary, ...... 149 

IX The Civic Education of Children, 181 

X The Political Education of Chil- 
dren, ...... 190 

XI Mathematics, ..... 206 

XII English Language and Literature, 223 

XIII Practical Knowledge of Civic Pro- 

cedure, . . . . . .252 

XIV Out-Door Education, . ■ . . 261 



V. 






FORE WORD. 



TO ALL PARENTS; TO ALL TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS; 
TO THE OWNERS AND EDITORS OF GREAT JOURNALS ; TO 
ALL WHO BY THEIR THINKING AND WRITING MAKE THE 
AMERICAN PRESS THE MOST NOBLE AND NOTABLE INFLU- 
ENCE AMONG THE MANIFOLD FORCES OF CIVILIZATION; 
TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN OF LIGHT AND LEADING; TO 
ALL CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO SEEK, AS BETTER THAN 
THE BASER FORMS OF WEALTH, THE POWERS AND PLEAS- 
URES OF INTELLIGENCE ; AND TO MY OWN DEAR CHILDREN, 
WITHOUT WHOSE LOVE OF LEARNING AND DESIRE TO 
KNOW THINGS SEEN AND UNSEEN, THIS BOOK OF SUGGES- 
TIONS AND RECORD OF STUDIES WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN 
WRITTEN, I INSCRIBE THIS VOLUME. 



A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR. 



I trust that no reader of this volume will 
suppose that the Author of it imagines that 
many can ever do for their children what he 
has done for his. In most cases imperative 
conditions would forbid it. And in such 
a matter as education of children a close im- 
itation of any method, however good in cer- 
tain cases and with certain environments, 
would in other cases be wholly impracticable. 

The value of this book is found primarily 
in the fact that it is a truthful record of what 
is actually being done with a group of chil- 
dren located in the country by a father who 
has the education and the environment that 
enables him to be their teacher. Any good 
thing that is honestly done at the cost of 
time and effort in the world has a certain 
value to it in the way of suggestion at least, 



6 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR. 

for it can be inspected, criticized, and 
weighed in the balances of sound judgment 
and accepted as helpful or rejected as hurtful. 
Nor will the volume be without value if it 
simply stimulates thought in the reader's 
mind, calls attention to what might be done, 
but is now neglected in the matter of educat- 
ing the children of the Country, brings 
mother and father in close sympathy with 
the sweet child life around them, adds to 
the home feeling, and delivers the youth of 
the Country from the depressing conven- 
tionalism which now benumbs the faculties 
of the public and limits the usefulness of the 

real teacher. 

The Author. 



Chapter I. 
THE OBJECT OF EDUCATION. 

IN WHICH THE OBJECT OF EDUCATION IS SET 
FORTH AND ENFORCED AND CERTAIN INTRO- 
DUCTORY STATEMENTS MADE AND EXPLANA- 
TIONS GIVEN CALCULATED TO PUT THE 
READER IN INTELLIGENT AND SYMPATHETIC 
CONNECTION WITH TEACHER AND PUPILS 
AND UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM ADOPTED 
AND APPLIED IN THEIR BEHALF. 

THERE is no education worth the hav- 
ing that does not make the child 
love father and mother more. There 
is no mental development worth the time 
and effort needed to get it that does not 
cause the pupil to understand more fully 
and appreciate more warmly the blessings 
of home. There is no religious instruction 
worthy of mention unless by it the child is 

brought into more trustful and loving con- 

(7) 



8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

nection with the divine Fatherhood. There 
is no system of intellectual training fit for 
the children of the Republic that does not 
implant and cultivate within their hearts 
the love of country. There are four heart 
connections for a child to make — the Pa- 
rental heart, the heart of Home, the heart 
of God, and the heart of the Nation. And 
that boy or girl who, while living within 
the safe and sweet enclosure of child-life, 
has, by the education given him or her, 
been helped to make a true and happy 
connection with these four sources of 
needed and vital supply of the growing 
forces within, has been best fitted for 
earthly life in its broadest sense. And that 
education, both as to its substance and 
method, which gives in the fullest measure 
this development and preparation for life, is 
the best possible education that can be 
given a child. 

It is in recognition of this principle, which 
seems to me the true basis on which the 
entire superstructure of education for child- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 9 

ren should be builded, that I was moved 
to undertake and give, at any cost of time 
and effort, a personal supervision over the 
training of the dear ones given me of God. 
To me the object aimed at seemed large 
and noble enough to include all possible 
education, from the alphabet to the highest 
point of human scholarship. The method 
and manner of my instruction may be mod- 
ified to adapt it to varying circumstances, 
dissimilar conditions and different environ- 
ments. But the objective result remains in 
each case the same. Love of parents ; 
love of home ; love of country ; and love 
of God — these four stand as fixed stars, 
resplendent and changeless in the sky of 
parental aspiration, and of those who are 
appointed to take the place of parents. 
Above every home, above every school- 
house, above every college and university, 
they should be seen and recognized as sup- 
plying to all educational effort the natural 
and attractive splendor. 

From children thus educated there would 



lO HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

come to us as a people, in a single genera- 
tion, a vast increase in the respect, the rev- 
erence, and the affection due to parents. 
To the children themselves a larger and 
more practical knowledge of the forces and 
conditions that make for success on the 
higher planes of thought, feeling, and life. 
To the church, so far as it represents true 
Spiritual development and growth in amia- 
bilities toward men and reverential appre- 
hension of the Divine Being, a measureless 
reinforcement in vital piety. The love of 
home and home life, which has in the last 
half century come perilously nigh to the 
edge of total extinction, would, in all its 
loveliness and power for good, be restored 
to us. To education would be given a 
wider scope, a higher significance, and a 
closer connection with the actual and daily 
life of the people, while to the nation, 
which at present so sorely suffers from the 
absence of it, there would be born that only 
Shiloh of Empire, a genuine and divine 
patriotism, having God for its father, and 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. n 

for its mother a noble, intelligent, and heart- 
deep love of country. 

If some cynical person should obtrude 
the hackneyed objection that " The millen- 
nium has not come yet," I reply that so far 
as a man loves parents, home, country, and 
God, the millennium has come already. 
Such a person has full citizenship in both 
worlds. In him the millennial conditions 
already exist full flowered. And when a 
generation of children in this country have 
been so educated as to embody and practi- 
cally express these four cardinal virtues, 
America has in their passage from low to 
high, from the imperfect to the complete, 
passed over the line which to-day separates 
it from the millennium period. Whether 
human conditions in this country are lifted 
to the level of human necessities and human 
happiness in the next generation or in the 
one-thousandth generation from this one is 
not a matter of fate but of popular wish 
and adequate effort. The election is pri- 
marily with us who are parents, and who 



12 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

for one-third of all their days control the 
mental, social, moral, and physical shaping 
and characterizing of the dear ones divinely 
placed in our charge. One generation of 
children rightly educated secures us a mil- 
lennial citizenship. I simply propose, 
with the divine help, to prepare four girls 
to enjoy the privileges, perform the duties, 
and win the honors of such a high estate — 
in short, that my daughters shall be so edu- 
cated as to represent millennial womanhood. 
The children of whose education this 
volume tells were born of healthy parents. 
Their home is in the State of Connecticut, 
in the town of Guilford. It stands on land 
with ancestral associations reaching back- 
ward more than two centuries and a half. 
The house overlooks Long Island Sound, 
and is one of a class that has no value save to 
love and for family uprearing. From such 
a view-point it out-ranks a palace, for its 
placement is sanitarily perfect, the view 
from it pleasing to the eye that is so like 
God's as to love beauty; living springs with 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 13 

full flowage nigh; trees overarch and stretch 
away from it in groups and groves to wood- 
land reaches, while numberless birds by 
their close and fearless vicinage bear testi- 
mony that the family within the old gray 
residence is civilized. 

Within, the old house fits the family as a 
well made, rightly proportioned shoe, long 
worn, fits the foot of one who loves to walk 
and ramble. Its floors are worn like a 
violin string frayed from much use and 
suggests the musical patter of ten thousand 
little footfalls. The furniture is a pot- 
pourri of ancient and modern contrivances 
for human use and comfort, a collection of 
jetsam and flotsam thrown into the old 
house by the tides and storms of ancient 
days, mingled with a deliciously inartistic 
incongruity, with modern pieces of high pol- 
ish and elegant pretensions. The rooms 
have low ceilings warmly toned by the 
vagrant whiffs of smoke of fragrant woods 
that have escaped beyond the jambs of the 
old-time fireplaces and spread themselves 



14 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



in soft enfoldments along the mortared sur- 
face. The walls are cracked with the jar 
and thump of dancing feet whose jigs were 
danced a hundred years ago and roars of 
laughter from those who lived a hearty life 
and died as heartily; — God rest their souls. 
For from the beginning the Murrays have 
known how to laugh and had great joy in 
living, whether tide flowed in or out or how- 
ever went the luck ; as I pray may ever be 
the case while one is left to see the brooks 
run to the Sound or hear the winds of 
winter storm o'er the chimney. There is 
nothing handsome inside or outside the old 
house, and children can use and abuse it as 
their mood is, and not disturb its broad- 
faced and placid equanimity. It is a house 
that children instinctively know and love. 
They don't have to be introduced to it. It 
introduces itself to them. There is not a 
room in it that inspires them with the least 
bit of awe, or that they cannot run into 
screaming with laughter, with fun in hot 
pursuit. Dear old house, homely old 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 15 

home, thou hast, I know, had men and 
women die In thee, but it must have been 
in triumphant fashion, for the silence that 
never yet was vocal seems not to have en- 
tered thy rooms nor the fatal knot of gloom 
been fastened to thy doors. Surely thou 
wast built for happy births, and healthy 
cradles, and youthful growth and joys, and 
as a peaceful harbor for old ships which 
after many risks and long voyaging, with 
weakened spars and shortened sail, come 
sailing into thy safe enclosure, to go not 
forth again nor meet with storm until they 
move gently out and gradually lose them- 
selves in distance, borne outward on the 
last ebbing. 

To children thus born and with such 
environment, typical of the best New Eng- 
land has to give her sons and daughters, — 
pure air, pure water, a simple old-fashioned 
diet and yet more varied as to flesh and fish 
and vegetables, of fruits and berries, than is 
grown for childhood in any other section of 
the globe, — health is both a heredity and a 



l6 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

natural sequence, and in support of this 
stands a record for the two older pupils of 
three times three hundred and sixty-five 
days of recitations without a failure or a 
miss. No sickness interfered and no vaca- 
tions were called for, for they were never 
overtaxed. Frolic and happiness filled each 
day, and study was only entertainment which 
yielded fresh delight with the coming of 
each morning and grew in pleasurableness 
♦•with the healthy growth of body and 
enlargement of mental capacity. Their 
studentship was never a task, for there was 
nothing tasksome in it. No bell summoned 
them to a dry dead routine of undesired 
application. No rivalry stirred them to un- 
due effort, and the conventional method of 
"stimulating" them to acquire knowledge 
of any sort beyond their natural capacity 
and wish to learn was never suggested or 
applied. For to me it is a maxim and a 
faith that all children are by nature growth- 
ful : that the desire to learn and know is 
structural in them, and that the world into 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 17 

which they have been born is so filled with 
provocations to think, to question, and to get 
at the cause, the structure and the meaning 
of things they meet and see, on all sides, 
that to seek to know and understand is as 
natural as to eat and drink and sleep. In 
the case of children compelled to live in 
cities this does not hold good, but to those 
who are favored with country residence, 
studentship, and the discipline that comes 
with it, are the sure sequence of their en- 
vironment. 

One thing seems worthy of mention, for 
it has drawn forth questioning from some 
and expressions of surprise ; I refer to the 
matter of companionship, for these children 
of whose education I am telling have never 
been to school or church, nor have they 
ever had a playmate or the most casual ac- 
quaintanceship with any children beyond 
their own home circle. And this as I con- 
ceive has been no loss but a vast gain to 
them. For in the first place it has pro- 
tected them from many interruptions and 



l8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

associations that would not have been in all 
instances helpful. They have never heard 
an oath, or vulgar word, or an ungrammati- 
cal expression. Their vocabulary has been 
that of those who are educated and intelli- 
gent. Born of refinement, and living in its 
atmosphere, they have no knowledge of 
silly talk, or of rude behavior or bad man- 
ners. To the table when guests are present 
they come with no awkwardness or embar- 
rassment, for they have knowledge of and 
practice in the usages and habits of polite 
people and none other ; and the conversa- 
tion of the guests, whether humorous or 
grave, playful or learned, is one with that 
which they have always heard and in which 
according to their ability they have always 
naturally and happily joined. There is no 
dish on well furnished tables that they do 
not know the name and use of and no ordi- 
narily served food that they have not seen 
prepared or served, or assisted in preparing 
and serving. Ignorance, which is the 
mother of awkwardness and the cause of 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



19 



all painful embarrassment in company, is 
not operant to bring discomfort to them. 
Restraint is not felt, for knowledge of things 
and of the usages of gentlefolk gives them 
the freedom of experience. 

As to companionship in the sense of 
joyful comraderie in play and sport and 
games in field and house, theirs has been of 
the best and heartiest. Right-minded, and 
affectionate by nature, kindly and courteous 
from habit, having no knowledge of any 
other conduct or mannerism, liking like 
things, they have found in each other's 
society a companionship as intimate and 
amiable as children ever enjoyed. High- 
spirited as they are, zestful and eager at 
play, ardent and impetuous as children 
should be, unrestrained by fear of any puni- 
tive authority, I have never heard a hot or 
rude expression from one to another or 
seen the least evidence that selfishness or 
spitefulness existed in their bosoms. Their 
games and sports have been as varied and 
numerous as their age and capacity to 



20 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

learn and enjoy made possible : marbles, 
battledore and shuttlecock, hand ball, bat- 
ting straight and sky balls, pitching and 
catching, archery, and the making of their 
own bows and arrows, pistol and rifle prac- 
tice, coasting and skating, rowing and swim- 
ming, driving and riding, — they harnessing 
and saddling the horses, — cultivation of 
flowers both from seed and root, grafting 
of fruit trees and the transplanting of forest 
trees and shrubs, forestry both from the 
ornamental and economic point of view, 
running and jumping, practice in balancing, 
posing and weight-carrying on their heads 
for grace and dignity of carriage and suavity 
of movement ; study of birds and bird life 
in nest building, food supply, plumage and 
song-sounds, the calls of night birds ; the 
study of trees as to name, habitat, shape 
and color of leaf, texture of bark and char- 
acteristic odor by which the nose names 
trees even more surely than the eyes. For 
indoor games and amusements, candy pull- 
ing, maple sugar making, corn popping, ap- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 21 

pie roasting on the hearth, fox and geese, 
nine men morris, checkers, whist and chess, 
story telhng and reading of humorous tales 
and all the miscellaneous fun and frolic that 
healthy children with high spirits and a 
sympathetic audience could have in an old 
house whose floors and walls in every seam 
and crack laughed with them : in such 
games, sports, exercises, studies, and forms 
of entertainment these children have found 
companionship more companionable than 
might ever come to them in the conven- 
tional manner, and a happiness so full and 
sweet that never while they live will they 
forget the gladsome days of childhood or 
the dear old Home in which, in their young 
days, so much of light and sweetness came 
to them. When their teacher and white- 
headed playmate has gone the journey that 
simply hides for a brief time his face from 
view, the old Home will not be sold to 
some ignorant immigrant, or it and the 
grave that will be nigh it be allowed to go 
neglected, uncared for and unloved. It is 



22 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

not the fault of the children that has caused 
the dear old homesteads of New England to 
pass to alien ownership, but because those 
children were taught by precept and example 
the love of Greed, the pride of station, and 
that the right thing for a boy to do was to 
go forth into the world as far from the old 
home as possible and anywhere, anyhow, 
become beastly rich and as quickly as pos- 
sible. An honest, honorable, rightly defined 
thrift is one thing — but an all absorbing 
greed for money is another. You can met- 
alize a man so that every one of the millions 
of pores in his skin stand for a dollar mark. 
But I know of no one who gives such a 
metallic metamorphosis of a man any 
thought unless it be some degenerate uni- 
versity who wants an endowment. Between 
two such the fellowship of exchange is 
natural. The one gives his check and the 
other responds with an LL.D.! 



Chapter II. 

THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION 

NOW IN VOGUE BRIEFLY 

EXAMINED AND 

CONDEMNED. 

IN THIS CHAPTER CERTAIN JUDGMENTS AND 
OPINIONS ARE EXPRESSED WITH FRANKNESS 
AND CERTAIN VIEWS OF THE PRESENT CON- 
VENTIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION NOW IN 
VOGUE AMONG US ARE DECLARED AND SUS- 
TAINED BY SUCH A STATEMENT OF EVIL DONE 
THAT THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS CHAP- 
TER SHOULD BE GRAVELY CONSIDERED BY 
ALL PARENTS. 

THE great objection to the system of 
educating children now in vogue 
among us is that it does not educate. 
And the reason that it does not educate is 
because it is not based on a right under- 
standing of child nature or what education 

(23) 



24 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

really is. The child as a child is not consid- 
ered. The pupils are treated rather as little 
men and little women and forced to adjust 
themselves to rules, methods of study, and 
an environment not natural or pleasant to 
them. Unconventional to a degree, they 
are suddenly brought face to face and com- 
pelled to harmonize with the conventional. 
The Socratic method of questioning and 
seeking knowledge of nature and things in 
their own natural way is denied them. If 
they will or can learn in one set, arbitrary 
way and in accordance with a certain con- 
ventional method they can do so. But if 
they cannot do this then they can remain 
ignorant. The child nature being ignored 
the child growth is lost. A system based 
on a wrong conception or a non-conception 
of child nature and hence not adjustable to 
it is necessarily a failure. 

Not only is the child nature not under- 
stood, but the nature of education is equally 
misapprehended. For education is not the 
acquisition of knowledge but the develop- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 25 

ment of natural faculty. To enlarge and 
quicken the affections, to strengthen mem- 
ory, to develop the reason, enable the pupil 
to think clearly and express himself or her- 
self accurately and forcibly ; to qualify him 
to fully concentrate his mind at any moment 
of time, under all conditions of place and 
circumstance, on one particular subject and 
by so doing decide and act rightly and 
efficiently : this is the object of education. 
And beyond this there is none other. The 
system that does this is a success. If it 
does not do it, it is a failure. 

The children of America to-day are being 
trained under a different system and with a 
widely different object in view. The sys- 
tem in vogue has been accurately if inele- 
gantly defined as the "System of Cram"! 
Facts, figures, names, dates, rules, and 
a hodge-podge of book knowledge are liter- 
ally cra77inied into them. If memory is 
phenomenal a child lives through the awful 
process and is graduated a mental squab. 
He is unable to fly, but he is jellied with 



26 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

"knowledge." He stands at the head of 
his class. He is graduated with " Honors." 
He is called a "Remarkable Scholar" — 
heaven save the mark ! The system of 
cram finds in his inefficient, untrained but 
plethoric mentality its highest success ! 

But what of the mass of pupils whose 
memories are proportionate with their other 
endowments ? What of those whose mental 
stomachs cannot stand being stuffed with 
such a mass of food every day ? What of 
those who are not precocious, who mature 
slowly, who are highly organized and can- 
not stand the strain of intense application 
week in and week out ? What of those the 
glory of whose natures is seen in the wealth 
of their affections rather than in mental 
equipment ? Are there no geniuses of the 
heart in God's world to-day? The affec- 
tionate wives, the loving mothers, the home- 
loving fathers of the future. Are these not 
worth educating, and is a system that makes 
no distinction between children of widely 
different endowments and takes no thought 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 27 

of child-nature a system fit to be continued 
forever ? Verily '* One star differeth from 
another star in glory"; and does not one 
child differ from another child in talents, in 
endowments, in gifts, and in qualities of 
nature? and are these children of God, 
widely dissimilar but equally lovely, to be 
treated and trained precisely alike and under 
a system that never trained any child rightly 
yet and never will, because it is not formed 
on a knowledge of child nature ? 

There is a tendency in all doing among 
us to over do. Athletics are causing more 
early deaths and making more cripples in 
our country than all other causes combined. 
And this not because athletic exercise is not 
healthy, but because athleticism in America 
means over training and over effort. It is 
the pace that kills. And in the realm of 
education the same is true : over study, over 
application, over stimulation of the recep- 
tive capacity thwarts the very purpose of 
education. 

But this little volume is written as a sug- 



28 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

gestlon and not as a criticism or a revolt 
against the existing system of popular 
instruction. The teachers of the country 
are honest and intelligent, and I may add 
wretchedly paid. Many are actually gifted 
to teach children, to truly educate them, to 
develop the child nature aright. All that 
can be done under such a system as they 
are compelled to work under, they are 
doing. But no one knows better than the 
thoughtful educators in our common schools 
that our system of education does not 
educate ! 



Chapter III. 
THE FAMILY HOUR. 

IN WHICH IT IS MADE TO APPEAR THAT ONE 
HOUR EACH DAY IS WELL SPENT IF SET 
APART FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF CHIL- 
DREN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAM- 
ILY FEELING. 

THERE is great alarm in the land be- 
cause the Family as an institution is 
dying out. I do not see why it 
should not die out. In a large minority of 
cases it does not rest on the basis of a true 
marriage. Honesty and honor are not the 
basis of the contract. The man has been 
enticed and trapped, or the woman has been 
deceived and finds herself held by other 
bands than those of love when it is too late 
to escape. In other cases it rests on greed 
of money, love of luxury, pride of station, 
social ambition, or to escape the daily strain 

(29) 



30 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

and torment of living in a house that is not 
a home. Children are born of ill mating, 
both in body and mind, or are not desired, 
or into parental connection where business 
ambitions and social gayeties are too exact- 
ing to allow the time and care required for 
their happy development to be given them. 
How can love of home and the holy sweet- 
ness of a true home life be grown in them 
thus born and in such an environment ? 
How can the Family Institution be strength- 
ened, confirmed, and maintain its hold in 
the affections and reverence of the people 
under such conditions? If it is dying out 
among us is it not because of affectional 
starvation ? Is it being starved to death ? 

What is the remedy? How shall we 
better the present deplorable state of things ? 
Law is powerless, and the church can only 
assist. The remedy must be found else- 
where. The Family must be reformed and 
renewed within itself. Love must do it. 
Children must be regarded as the most pre- 
cious of gifts given of heaven. Compared 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 31 

with them wealth is of no value, and social 
pleasures of no account. One healthy, 
happy, well educated, parent-loving, and 
home-loving child outvalues all wealth and 
all social station. Place the millions of a 
modern Midas in one scale and such a 

glorious child in the other and the millions 
tip the beam ! 

Without such children in a house a house 
can never become a home. Without such 
children so loved, prized, and cared for the 
Family can never be a divine institution. 
Make the houses of America into true 
homes ; fill them with children thus loved, 
prized, and cared for ; let mother and father 
give time, thought, effort, to secure to them 
happy development, and we shall hear no 
more about the decadence of the Family 
Institution. It will become strong as a 
tree, even as that Tree described in the 
Apocalypse " "which is on either side of the 
River of Life " — the earth side and the 
heaven side — " which bears twelve manner 
of fruits and yieldeth its fruit every month. 



32 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

and whose leaves are for the healingf of the 
nations." Yes, that is it : the healing of 
the nations. God, He knows that we need 
the heahng. Why not, then, cultivate the 
Tree ? 

We were all seated around the family 
table — that is a good name for a table. 
The old fireplace glowed as a woman when 
happy, and painted the posts and beams, 
the walls and the old-time settle with amber 
light and ocher tones. A row of big red 
apples was on the hearthstone, and the rich, 
pungent odors of oozing juice and burning 
skins filled the room, A top that became 
concentric rings of color as it spun, was 
spinning on the table and by its double 
movement served the Teacher to illustrate 
to the class the double motion of the earth, 
one round its own axis and the other along 
the vast range and circuit of its orbit. I 
had been telling them of the Heavens — 
which they know better than many women, 
— for it has been the habit of the house to 
take them out of doors each night before 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 33 

they go to bed, that they might hear the 
voices of it and see the splendor of the 
skies ; and the "Tales of the Sky" had a 
fine witchery in them to their young minds 
of which they never tired, and so I had, 
compelled by their sweet importunity, been 
retelling some of the Tales of the Sky : of 
Venus, the Star of Morning and of Even- 
ing, to whose shrine the lovers of either sex 
once brought offerings of flowers and wine, 
praying her to prosper them in their loving 
and their wooing ; of Mars, the Star of 
warriors, whose beams were even as the 
blood of battle ; of Neptune with his Tri- 
dent and what he symbolized to some old 
race who lived when the world was young ; 
of Saturn, whose rings of splendor were the 
glory and the wonder of the Skies; and of 
the Pleiades, who mourned so faithfully for 
a loved one lost, as all true ones on earth 
among men should mourn when one they 
loved is taken out of life by death and hid- 
den from them. And so with all manner of 
sweet intercourse and heavenly happiness 



34 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



the evening grew to its close. And this, as 
the dear ones, robed for sleep, sat in a row, 
warming their pink feet on the broad 
hearthstone, was the last question asked the 
teacher : 

" Father dear, what is a family ? " 
And I, after pondering awhile, answered : 
" A family is a group of persons made up 
of Mother, Father, and children and such 
other loved ones as may be living with 
them, who love each other dearly and do 
all they can to make each other good and 
wise and happy." 

And then from the oldest one there came 
these words : 

" Father dear, I think we ought to call 
the hour we always spend together each 
evening The Family Hour. And so it got 
its naming. 

It would be in vain for me to attempt to tell 
those who read these lines, whether known 
or unknown to me, what this Family Hour 
has been and is to mine and me. It has 
given to the heart its occasion and to the 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 35 

mind its opportunity. It has become the 
center and central source of joy and help- 
ing to the family life. Mentally and affec- 
tionally it is the greatest factor for good in 
the household. It is the school of litera- 
ture, of manners, and of unconventional 
piety to us all. It is devoted to entertain- 
ment, wit, humor, anecdote, story telling, 
recitations, scripture reading, games, fun 
and frolic. All that can entertain healthy, 
clever children are incorporate in it. But 
sweet and potent as it is for good to us 
and would become to all who would adopt 
it, no mention would have been made of 
it in this little book had it not been for 
the importunity of the children who in- 
sisted that it would not be fair to conceal 
it. And perhaps the children were right. 



Chapter IV. 

THE SPIRITUAL EDUCATION OF 

CHILDREN. 

IN WHICH ARE SET FORTH CERTAIN VIEWS THAT 
MAY BE MORE OR LESS STRANGE TO SOME 
BUT WHICH, BEING TRUE, ARE LIKELY TO 
PROFIT THOSE WHO READ. 

4 4 J2"ATHER, who made this Sweetbriar?" 
I " The same as made the earth in 

which it grows, my dear." 
" But father, who made the earth ? " 
** Even He who made the Sun that 
warms it so that the sweetbriar grows." 

" And did this same one make the sky, 
too, father?" 

"Yes, even the same, my daughter." 
"And the stars?" 
"Surely, the stars also." 
" But, father dear, who made this sweet- 
briar so sweet ? " 

(36) 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 37 

" Even he who caused it to be, made it 
to be sweet." 

" Then he loves sweet things even as I 
do?" 

" Beyond doubt, He loves them even as 
you and I do, only more." 

" I don't think he could love its sweet 
smell more than I do, father." 

" Perhaps not, for you are his child and 
only just from Him and very like him in 
many ways." 

A brief pause in which the little student 
of divine things inspects the delicate bloom 
of the odorous bush and inhales its per- 
fume, and then : — 

*' O father, tell me, did you ever see 
him?" 

" No, I have never seen him." * 

" Why, you have been everywhere, 
father, and I should think you must have 
met him." 

" I have met him, dear one, and in many 



* "No man might look upon his face and live." 
" No one hatli seen the Father, save the Son." 



38 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

places, both by day and night, but never 
nigher or more face to face than you do 
standing there seeing the beauty and smell- 
ing the fragrance of that bush." 

"You mean, that you have only seen 
him in what he has done. Is that what 
you mean, father?" 

" Yes, that is what I mean, pet. Come, 
dear, break off a bough for the table, for 
Ruby is waving her handkerchief, and that 
means that breakfast is ready, and we will 
stroll homeward." 

And so, one little hand in mine, the other 
holding the spray of sweetbriar, through 
the dewy grass, the air filled with bird 
notes, and inhaling a hundred sweet smells, 
we slowly sauntered homeward. 

When nigh the house, she suddenly 
exclaimed : 

" O father, I forgot to ask you the name 
of him who made the sweetbriar and the 
earth, and the sun and sky ! What is it, 
please ? " 

** I do not know his name, dear one." 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 39 

" O father, you must be funning, for you 
know the name of every tree, and shrub, 
and flower and bird, and even the bugs and 
little things in the grass and under stones 
and leaves you know the names of ; you 
mttst know the name of him who made 
them." 

"Dear child, to me he is a Spirit, so 
infinitely great and wise and good as to be 
beyond naming — but many people give 
him a name. And the people round about 
here call him God." 

" And what does that mean ?" 

" I do not know." 

"What do the Red Men call him?" 

" Manitou — which means the Great 
Spirit r 

" Do you think that is a good name for 
him ?" 

" My child, after my way of thinking the 
Red Men have the best name for him who 
made us and all things we see, beyond all 
other races, whether ancient or modern. 
And some time when Ruby is with us I 



40 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

will tell you all I know about the Great 
Spirit of the Red Man ; for the most profit- 
able and delightful knowledge you will ever 
get from me or any other one will be of 
him, his love for you, and what he wishes 
you to do and be." 

Thus the spiritual education of my chil- 
dren so far as I have contributed to it 
began. 

Children are natural pietists. They are 
affectional beings, and to such a degree 
that they love all amiability as soon as they 
apprehend it. Goodness, gentleness, sin- 
cerity, love, these they sense instinctively 
and without blundering. You may be able 
to fool an adult in the matter of loving, but 
you cannot fool children. They shrink 
from all deceit as a sensitive plant from 
human touch. Their intuitions are abso- 
lutely correct. Their innocence is of the 
skies, and naturally detective of evil. This 
early innocence of childhood the Master 
recognized and declared that " Of such is 
the Kingdom of Heaven." 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



41 



Now all creations of God grow accord- 
ing to a law incorporate in their nature. 
Not only is the germ of development in 
them, but the mode and stages of its progress 
harmonize with it. There is no lawlessness 
in creation. All true growth is in obedience 
to some law within that has dominant rela- 
tion to it. It is in harmony with a divine 
plan and force as to its quality, quantity, 
and order of time. It is first a germ, then 
a blade, then an ear, and then the full corn 
in the ear. There is no reason that a child 
should ever be taught theology. 

The child-nature expands according to a 
law that prompts and controls and perfects 
child development. To force it beyond its 
own order as to kind or direction or order 
is to mar, perhaps thwart, the divine plan ; 
is to substitute for God's wisdom man's 
knowledge. This is unwise, and were it 
intelligent it would be irreverent. 

At first, to a child, parents stand for God, 
home for heaven, and nature for the Bible. 
They cannot in the beginning of life get 



42 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



knowledge out of books. They are Impres- 
sional and not reasoning beings. They get 
at the heart of God through the hearts of 
their parents, their own hearts, and the 
heart of things. Perhaps we older ones 
would get nigher the divine Fatherhood if 
we were more as children are. 

In accordance with these views and feel- 
ings I have permitted my children to de- 
velop naturally in piety. So far as it was 
possible to me I have become a child with 
them. On the religious plane they seem 
to me to be God's children rather than 
mine. I have never doubted but that 
within them his guiding, controlling and in- 
spiring Spirit dwelt continually. I have 
told them whence they were, and whence 
all things were ; that all that was lovely, all 
that was good, all that was pure, all that 
was pleasant and helpful to them, were from 
Him and for them, — His gifts to them that 
they may become wise and good and happy. 
Beyond this I said little. They did not 
need that I should tell them more. I was 
not sure that I had more to tell. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 43 

When the older ones came to the knowl- 
edee of words, and could learn wisdom 
from words, I told them of a book in which 
were printed the Teachings of the wisest 
man that ever lived ; that his name was 
Jesus ; when he was born and of what race, 
and in a simple way the story of his birth. 
I told them that he was called the Christ 
and why, and that the religion he estab- 
lished was called Christianity and was the 
religion of their parents and their country, 
and that by his words and manner of life he 
gave the best illustration of his religion 
ever given to men ; that many had tried to 
explain it better but had never succeeded, 
and that I had no greater wish in their 
behalf than that they should know what 
Jesus said and did and shape their own 
conduct in harmony with his teachings and 
follow the example of his life. 

This then, briefly stated, that I may not 
weary any, is what I have done touching 
the religious education of my children. 
Through parental love, through a sweet 



44 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



home life, through a nourishing food sup- 
ply, the loveliness and the glories of nature, 
they have come, by natural process of 
thought and growth, into the knowledge of 
and companionship with their Creator. 
And now they have already advanced so 
far in the knowledge of the Teachings of 
Jesus of Nazareth that the wisdom of his 
teachings and the nobility of his life are 
known to them. Of dogmas, of formulated 
creeds, of ritualistic observance, of human 
interpretation of the Master's self-interpret- 
ing words, they know nothing. Nor would 
they miss much, in my opinion, if they 
never should. But within a year of the 
date of their first recitation of the words of 
Jesus they will know by heart every word 
he ever spoke so far as reported, and every 
act he ever did. This legacy at least I can 
leave them. Of any other better one I 
know not. One thing seemed strange to 
me and unaccountable : That in this land 
of liberty and churches, of schools and 
colleges, I could, in my need, find no book 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 45 

containing the Declaration of Independence 
and the Constitution of the United States 
for popular reading, and no volume con- 
taining the words of Jesus, — the wisest 
man who ever lived, who spake as no other 
man spake, — printed, a glorious solecism in 
letters, for the study and memorizing of 
those who are or would be his disciples. 

In this and the following volume these 
sayings of the Master will be printed as my 
children recited them to me day by day 
and as given to them myself. I will not 
guarantee that here and there some slip of 
memory may not be discovered, for, as I 
have said elsewhere, memory is apt to 
loosen somewhat its grip on dates and 
words after a certain age, and thought goes 
forward rather than backward ; but I doubt 
not that the text of their recitations will be 
found essentially true to that of the record 
and honoring it by its fidelity. These reci- 
tations include the words of Jesus as re- 
corded in the Gospel of Luke. 



46 how i educate my daughters. 

The Words of the Master According 

TO St. Luke. 

RECITATION 

I. 

And when they saw him, they were 

amazed : and his mother said unto him, 

Son, why hast thou thus deah with us? 

behold, thy father and I have sought thee 

sorrowing. 

And he said unto them, How is it that ye 
sought me f wist ye not that I must be about 
'}ny Father s business ? 

And the devil said unto him. If thou be 
the son of God, command this stone that it 
be made bread. 

And Jesus answered him, saying. It is 
written, That thou shalt not live by bread 
alone, but by every word of God. 

And Jesus answered and said unto him : 
Get thee belmzdme, Satan: for it is written, 
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, aiid 
him only shalt thou serve. 

And Jesus answering, said unto him, 
// is said, Thou shalt ?tot tempt the Lord 
thy God. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 47 

RECITATION 
II. 

And he began to say unto them, This day 
is this scripture fzilfilled in your ears. 

And he said unto them, Ye will surely 
say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal 
thyself : whatsoever we have heard done in 
Caperfiauin, do also here in thy country. 

And he said, Verily, I say unto you. No 
prophet is accepted hi his own country. 

But I tell you of a truth, many widows 
were in Israel in the days of Elias, when 
the heaven was shut up three years and six 
m^onths, when great famine was throughout 
all the land : 

But unto none of them zvas Elias sent, 
save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, ttnto a 
woman, a widow. 

And many lepers were in Israel iri the 
time of Eliseus the prophet ; and none of 
them was cleansed, saviitg Naaman the 
Syrian. 

And Jesus rebuked him, saying. Hold 
thy peace, and come out of him. And when 



48 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

the devil had thrown him in the midst, 
he came out of him, and hurt him not. 

RECITATION 
III. 

And he said unto them, / 'inust preach 
the kingdom of God to other cities also, for 
therefore a}n I sent. 

Now, when he had left speaking, he said 
unto Simon, Latmch out into the deep, and 
let down yottr nets for a draught. 

And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not : 
from henceforth thou shall catch men. 

And when he saw their faith, he said 
unto him, Man, thy sins are forgive^i thee. 

But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, 
he answering said unto them. What reason 
ye in your hearts f 

Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be 
forgiven thee ; or to say. Rise tip and walk ? 

But that ye inay know that the Son of 
man hath power tip on earth to forgive sins, 
(he said unto the sick of the palsy,) / say 
unto thee, Arise, and take 2ip thy couch, and 
go into thy house. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 49 

And after these things he went forth, and 
saw a pubUcan named Levi, sitting at the 
receipt of custom : and he said unto him, 
Follow me. 

And Jesus answering, said unto them, 
They that are whole need not a physician ; 
but they that are sick. 

I came not to call the righteous, but sinners 
to repentance. 

RECITATION 
IV 

And they said unto him. Why do the dis- 
ciples of John fast often, and make prayers, 
and Hkewise the disciples of the Pharisees ; 
but thine eat and drink ? 

And he said unto him. Can ye make the 
children of the bride-chamber fast while the 
bridegroom is with thon f 

But the days will C077ie, when the bride- 
groom shall be takeii away from them, and 
then shall they fast in those days. 

And he spake also a parable unto them : 
No man putteth a piece of a new garment 
tipon an old ; if otherwise, then both the new 



so 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken 
out of the new, agreeth not with the old. 

And no man putt eth new wine into old 
bottles ; else the new wine will bzirst the 
bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall 
perish. 

But new wine imist be put into new bot- 
tles, and both are preserved. 

No man also having drttnk old wine, 
straightway desireth new : for he saith. The 
old is better. 

RECITATION 
■ V 

And certain of the Pharisees said unto 
them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to 
do on the sabbath-days ? 

And Jesus answering them, said, Have ye 
not read so m,uch as this, what David did, 
when himself was an hungered, and they 
which zvere with him ; How he went into 
the house of God, and did take and eat the 
shew-bread, and gave also to the^n that were 
with him, which it is not lawful to eat, but 
for the priests alone f 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 51 

And he said unto them, That the Son of 
man is Lo7^d also of the sabbath. But he 
knew their thoughts, and said to the man 
which had the withered hand. Rise up, and 
stand forth in the midst. And he arose, 
and stood forth. 

RECITATION 
VI 

Then said Jesus unto them, / will ask you 
07ie thing: Is it law foci on the sabbath-days to 
do good, 07^ to do evil? to save life, or to de- 
stroy it f 

And looking around upon them all, he 
said unto the man. Stretch forth thy hand. 
And he did so : and his hand was restored 
whole as the other. 

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, 
and said, Blessed be ye poor ; for yours is 
the ki7tgdom of God. 

Blessed are ye that hunger 7tow ; for ye 
shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep 
now ; for ye shall latigh. 

Blessed are ye zvhen 7Jie7t shall hate you, 
and whe7i they shall separate you fro77t their 



52 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

company, and shall reproach you, and cast 
out your name as evil, for the Son of Mans 
sake. 

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy : 
for behold, your reward is great in heaven : 
for in the like manner did their fathers unto 
the prophets. 

But wo unto you that are rich I for ye 
have received your consolation. 

Wo unto you that are full I for ye shall 
hunger. Wo unto you that laugh now f for 
ye shall mourn and weep. 

Wo unto you when all men shall speak 
well of you I for so did their fathers unto 
the false prophets. 

RECITATION 
VII 
But I say unto you which hear. Love your 
enemies, do good to them which hate you. 

Bless them that curse you, and pray for 
them which despitefully use you. And unto 
him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer 
also the other ; and him that taketh away 
thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. 



«fe!« 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 53 

Give to every man that asketh of thee ; 
and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask 
them not again. 

And as ye would that men shotild do to 
you, do ye also to thejn likewise. For if ye 
love them which love you, what thank have 
ye ? for sinners also love those that love 
them. 

And if ye do good to them which do good to 
you, zvhat thank have ye ? for sinners also 
do even the same. 

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to 
receive, what thank have ye ? for sinners 
also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 

But love ye yotir enemies, and do good, a?id 
lend, hoping for 7iothing again ; and yottr 
reward shall be great, and ye shall be the 
children of the Highest : for he is kind unto 
the unthankful and to the evil. 

Be ye therefore mercifd, as your Father 
also is merciful. 

Jtidge not, and ye shall not be judged : con- 
demn not, and ye shall not be condemned : 
forgive and ye shall be forgiven : 



54 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Give, and it shall be given ttnto you ; good 
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, 
and running over, shall 7iten give into yoitr 
bosom. For with the same measure that ye 
mete withal, it shall be measured to yotc 
again. 

RECITATION 
VIII 

And he spake a parable unto them : Can 
the blind lead the blind? Shall they not 
both fall into the ditch ? 

The disciple is not above his master : but 
every one that is perfect, shall be as his master. 

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in 
thy brother s eye, but perceivest not the beam 
that is in thine own eye ? 

Either how canst thou say to thy brother. 
Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in 
thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the 
beam that is in thine own eye? Thoti hypo- 
crite, cast out first the beam out of thine 
own eye, and then shall thou, see clearly to 
pull out the mote that is in thy brother s eye. 

For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt 



4 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 55 

fruit ; neither doth a corrupt tree bring 
forth good fruit. 

For every tree is known by his own fruit : 
for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of 
a bramble-bush gather they grapes. 

A good man otit of the good treasure of 
his heart, bringeth forth that which is good ; 
and an evil man out of the evil treasure of 
his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil : 
for out of the abundance of the heart the 
mouth speaketh. 

RECITATION 
IX 

And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do 
not the things which I say ? Whosoever 
C07neth to me, and heareth -my sayings, and 
doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is 
like. 

He is like a man which built a house, and 
digged deep, and laid the foundation on a 
rock : and when the flood arose, the stream 
beat vehemently upon that house, and could 
not shake it : for it was founded tpon a rock. 

Bttt he that heareth and doeth not, is like 



56 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

a man that without a foundation built a 
house upon the earthy against which the 
stream did beat vehem^ently, and im^mediately 
it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. 

RECITATION 
X 

And when the Lord saw her, he had com- 
passion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 

And he came and touched the bier : and 
they that bare him stood still. And he said, 
Young ma7i, I say unto thee, Arise. 

Then Jesus answering, said unto them, 
Go your way, and tell John what things ye 
have seen and heard ; hozv that the blind see, 
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the 
deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor 
the gospel is preached. 

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be 
offended in me. 

And when the messengers of John were 
departed, he began to speak unto the people 
concerning John, What went ye otU into the 
wilderness for to see ? A reed shaken with 
the wind? 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 57 

But what went ye out for to see f A man 
clothed in soft raiment ? Behold, they which 
are gorgeotcsly appareled, and live delicately, 
are in kings courts. 

Btit what went ye out for to see? A 
prophet ? Yea, I say unto you, and much 
more than a prophet. 

This is he, of whom it is written. Behold, 
I send my messenger before thy face, which 
shall prepare thy way before thee. 

For I say ttnto you, Among those that are 
born of women, there is not a greater prophet 
than John the Baptist : but he that is least 
in the kingdom of God, is greater than he. 

And the Lord said, Whereu7ito then shall 
I liken the men of this generation f and to 
what are they like? 

They are like unto children sitting in the 
7narket-place, and calling one to another, and 
saying. We have piped ttnto you, and ye have 
not danced ; we have mourned to you, and ye 
have not wept. 

For John the Baptist came neither eating 



58 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

bread, nor drinking wine ; and ye say, He 
hath a devil. 

The Son of man is come eating a7id drink- 
ing ; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, 
and a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and 

sinners ! 

RECITATION 

XI 

And Jesus answering, said unto him, 
Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. 
And he saith. Master, say on. 

There was a certain creditor, which had 
two debtors : the one owed five hundred pence, 
and the other fifty. 

And when they had nothing to pay, he 
frankly forgave them both. Tell me there- 
fore, which of them will love hijn most f 

Simon answered and said, I suppose that 
he, to whom he forgave most. 

And he said unto him, Thoti hast rightly 
jtLdged. 

And he turned to the woman, and said 
unto Simon, Seest thou this woman ? I e7t- 
tered into thy house, thou gavest 7ne no water 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 59 

for my feet : bttt she hath washed my feet 
with tears, and wiped them, with the hairs 
of her head. 

Thou gavest me no kiss ; hit this woman, 
since the time I came in, hath not ceased to 
kiss my feet. 

My head with oil thou didst not anoint : 

but this woman hath anointed my feet with 

ointment. 

RECITATION 
XII 

Wherefore, I say unto thee. Her sins, 
which are many, are forgiven ; for she loved 
m,uch : but to whom little is forgiven, the 
same loveth little. 

And he said unto her, Thy sijts are for- 
given. 

And he said to the woman, thy faith 
hath saved thee ; go in peace. 

A sower went out to sow his seed ; aitd as 
he sowed, so7ne fell by the wayside ; and it 
was trodden down, and the fowls of the air 
devoured it. And some fell tipon a rock ; 
and as soon as it was sprung tip, it withered 
away, because it lacked moisture. 



6o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

And some fell among thorns : and the 
thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 

And other fell on good ground, and sprang 
up, and bare frtiit a hundred-fold. And 
when he had said these things, he cried, He 
that hath ears to hear, let him. hear. 

And his disciples asked him, saying. 
What might this parable be ? 

And he said, Unto you it is given to know 
the mysteries of the kingdoin of God : btit to 
others in parables ; that seeing they might 
7iot see, and hearing they might not under- 
stand. 

Now the parable is this : The seed is the 
word of God. 

Those by the wayside, are they that hear ; 
then Cometh the devil, and taketh away the 
word otit of their hearts, lest they should 
believe and be saved. 

They on the rock are they, which, when 
they hear, receive the word with joy ; and 
these have no root, which for a zuhile believe, 
and i7i time of temptation fall away. 

And that which fell among thorns, are 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 6l 

they, which, whejz they have heard, go forth, 
and are choked, with cares, and riches, and 
pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to 
peifection. 

But that 071 the good gro7ind are they, 
which in an honest and good heart, having 
heard the word, keep it, aitd bring forth 
fruit with patience. 

RECITATION 
XIII 

No Tnan, when he hath lighted a candle, 
covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under 
a bed ; but setteth it on a candlestick, that 
they which enter in fnay see the light. 

For nothing is secret, that shall not be 
f}iade manifest ; neither anythiitg hid, that 
shall 110 1 be known, and come abroad. 

Take heed therefore how ye hear : for 
whosoever hath not, from hiTn shall be taken 
even that which he seemeth to have. 

And he answered and said unto them, 
My mother and my brethren are these which 
hear the word of God, and do it. 



62 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

And he said unto them, Where is your 
faith ? 

Return to thine own hotise, and shew how 
great things God hath do7ie unto thee. 
RECITATION 
XIV 

And Jesus said, Who touched me f When 
all denied, Peter, and they that were with 
him, said, Master, the multitude throng 
thee, and press thee, and sayest thou, Who 
touched me ? 

And Jesus said. Somebody hath touched 
me ; for I perceive that virtue is gone out 
of me. 

And he said unto her. Daughter, be of 
good comfort ; thy faith hath made thee 
whole ; go in peace. 

But when Jesus heard it, he answered 
him, saying, Fear not : believe only, and she 
shall be made whole. 

And when he came into the house, he 
suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and 
James, and John, and the father and the 
mother of the maiden. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 6;^ 

And all wept and bewailed her ; but he 
said, JVeeJ> not ; she is not dead, but slcepeth. 

And they laughed him to scorn, know- 
ing that she was dead. 

And he put them all out, and took her by 
the hand, and called, saying, Maid, ai^ise. 

And he sent them to preach the kingdom 
of God, and to heal the sick. 

And he said unto them, Take nothing for 
yotir jou7'7iey, neither staves, nor scrip, 
neither money ; neither have two coats apiece. 

And whatsoever house ye enter into, there 
abide, and thence depart. 

And whosoever will not receive yon, when 
ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust 
frojn your feet for a testimony against them. 

But he said unto them. Give ye them to 
eat. And they said. We have no more than 
five loaves and two fishes ; except we should 
go and buy meat for all this people. 

(For they were about five thousand men.) 
And he said to his disciples, Make them sit 
down by f flies in a co7npany. 



64 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

RECITATION 
XV 

Who say the people that I am f 

They answering, said, John the Baptist; 
but some say, EHas ; and others say, that 
one of the old prophets is risen again. 

He said unto them, But who say ye that 
I am ? Peter answering, said, The Christ 
of God. 

And he straitly charged them, and com- 
manded them, to tell no man that thing. 

Saying, The son of man mtist suffer many 
things, and be rejected of the elders, and chief 
priests, and scribes, and be slain, and be 
raised the third day. 

And he said to them all. If any man will 
come after me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross daily, and follow me. 

For whosoever will save his life, shall lose 
it ; bzit whosoever will lose his life for my 
sake, the same shall save it. 

For what is a man advantaged, if he gain 
the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast 
away ? 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 65 

For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and 
of my words, of him shall the Son of man be 
ashamed, when he shall come in his own 
glory, and in his Father s, and of the holy 
a7tgels. 

But I tell you of a trtith, there be some 
standing here which shall not taste of death 
till they see the kingdom, of God. 

RECITATION 
XVI 

And Jesus answering, said, O faithless 
and perverse generation, how long shall I be 
with you, and suffer you ? Bring thy son 
hither. 

Let these sayings sink down into your ears ; 
for the Son of man shall be delivered into 
the hands of men. 

And Jesus said unto them, Whosoever 
shall receive this child in my name, receiveth 
me ; and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth 
him that sent me : for he that is least among 
you all, the same shall be great. 

And John answered and said. Master, we 

5 



66 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

saw one casting out devils in thy name ; and 
we forbade him, because he followeth not 
with us. 

And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him 
not ; for he that is not against us, is for us. 

RECITATION 
XVII 
But he turned, and rebuked them, and 
said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye 
are of. 

For the Son of ma7i is not come to destroy 
mens lives, but to save them. 

And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, 
and birds of the air have nests ; but the Son 
of man hath not where to lay his head. 

And he said unto another, Follow me. 
But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and 
bury my father. 

Jesus said unto him. Let the dead btiry 
their dead ; but go thou and preach the king- 
dom of God. 

And another also said, Lord, I will follow 
thee ; but let me first go and bid them fare- 
well which are at home at my house. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. ^J 

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having 
ptit his hand to the plough, and looking back, 
is fit for the kingdom of God. 

Therefore said he unto them, The harvest 
t7^ttly is great, but the labourers are few ; 
pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, 
that he would send forth labourers into his 
harvest. 

RECITATION 
XVIII 

Go your ways ; behold, I send ye forth as 
lambs among wolves. 

Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor 
shoes ; and salute no -fnan by the way. 

And into whatsoever house ye enter, first 
say, peace be to this house. 

And if the son of peace be there, your 
peace shall rest tipon it ; if not, it shall turn 
to you again. 

And in the same house remain, eating and 
drinking such things as they give ; for the 
labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from 
house to house. 

And into whatsoever city ye enter, and 



68 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

^/ley receive you, eat such things as are set 
before you. 

And heal tJie sick that are therein, and 
say tijito them, The kingdom of God is come 
nigh unto you. 

But into whatsoever city ye eiiter, and 
they receive yott not, go yoztr ways out hito 
the streets of the same, and say. 

Even the very dust of your city which 
cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against yott : 
notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the 
kingdoin of God is come nigh tmto you. 

But I say tmto you, that it shall be more 
tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that 
city. 

Wo unto thee, Chorazin I Wo tmto thee, 
Bethsaida ! for if tJie mighty works had 
been done in Tyre and Sidofi, zvhich have 
been done in you, they had a great while ago 
repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But 
it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and 
Sidon at the jitdgment, than for you. 

And thou, Capernau^n, which art exalted 
to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 69 

RECITATION 
XIX 

He that heareth you, heareth me ; and he 

that despiseth you, despiseth me ; and he that 
despiseth me, despiseth hi7n that sent me. 

And he said unto them, / beheld Satan as 
lightning fall from heaven. 

_ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on 
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power 
of the enemy ; and nothing shall by any means 
hurt you. 

Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that 
the spirits are subject itnto you ; but rather 
rejoice, because yottr names are written in 
heo.ven. 

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and 
said, / thank thee, O Father, Lord of heav- 
en and earth, that thou hast hid these things 
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed 
them tmto babes : Even so, Father, for so it 
seemed good in thy sight. 

All things are delivered to me of my Fath- 
er : and no man knoweth who the Son is, but 
the Father ; and who the Father is, but the 
Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. 



70 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

RECITATION 
XX 

And he turned him unto his disciples, 
and said privately, Blessed are the eyes 
which see the things that ye see. 

For I tell yo2i, That many prophets and 
kings have desired to see those things which 
ye see, and have not seen them ; and to hea'r 
those things which ye hear, and have not 
heard them. 

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, 
and tempted him, saying. Master, what shall 
I do to inherit eternal life ? 

He said unto him. What is written in the 
law f how readest thou ? 

And he answering said. Thou shalt love 
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, 
and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbour 
as thyself. 

And he said unto him. Thou hast answer- 
ed right : this do, and thou shalt live. 

But he, willing to justify himself, said 
unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 71 

RECITATION 
XXI 

And Jesus answering, said, A certain 
man went down froin Jej^usalem to Jericho, 
and fell among thieves, which stripped him 
of his raiment, a?id wounded him, and de- 
parted, leaving him half dead. 

And by chance there came down a certain 
priest that way : and when he saw hhn, he 
passed by on the other side. 

And likewise a Levlte, when he was at the 
place, came and looked on him, and passed by 
on the other side. 

But a certain Samaritan, as he jo^irneyed, 
came where he was : and when he saw him, 
he had compassion on him. 

And went to him, and bound up his 
wounds, pouring In oil and wine, a?id set 
him on his own beast, and brought to an Inn, 
and took care of him. 

And on the morrow, when he departed, he 
took out tivo pence, and gave them to the host, 
and said unto him. Take care of hhn : and 



72 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come 
again, I will repay thee. 

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, 
was neighbour unto him that fell ainong the 
' thieves ? 

And he said, He that shewed mercy on 
him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and 
do thou likewise. 

And Jesus answered, and said unto her, 
Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and 
troubled about many things. 

But one thing is needful ; and Mary hath 
chosen that good part, which shall not be 
taken away from her. 

RECITATION 
XXII 
And he said unto them. When ye pray, 
say. Our Father, which art i^i heaven, Hal- 
lowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy 
will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 
Give us day by day o^Lr daily bread. 
And forgive tis our sins ; foi'- we also for- 
give every one that is indebted to us. And 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 73 

lead tts not into temptation; but deliver us 
from evil. 

And he said unto them, Which of you 
shall have a friend, and shall go ttnto him at 
midnight, and say tmto him, Friend, lend 
me three loaves : 

For a friend of mine in his journey has 
come to me, and I have nothing to set before 
him. ? 

And he from within shall answer and say. 
Trouble me not : the door is 7iozv shut, and 
my childre7i are with me in bed ; I cannot 
rise and give thee. 

RECITATION 
XXIII 

/ say ttnto you, though he will not rise and 
give him, because he is his friend, yet because 
of his importtmity he will rise and give him 
as many as he needeth. 

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be 
given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, 
a?id it shall be opened unto you. 

For every one that asketJi^ receiveth ; and 



74 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that 
knocketh, it shall be opened. 

If a son shall ask bread of any of yotc that 
is a father, will ye give him a stone ? or if 
he ask a fish, zvill he for a fish give hint a 
serpent, or if he shall ask an egg, will he 
offer him a scorpion ? 

If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children, how much 
m,ore shall your heavenly father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him f 

RECITATION 
XXIV 

Every kingdom divided against itself, is 
brought to desolation ; and a house divided 
against a house, falleth. 

If Satan also be divided against himself, 
how shall his kingdom stand ? because ye say 
that I cast out devils throtigh Beelzebub. 

And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by 
whom do yotir sons cast theyn out ? therefore 
shall they be your judges. 

But if I with the finger of God cast out 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 75 

devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come 
upon you. 

When a strong man armed keepeth his 
palace, his goods are in peace : 

But when a stronger than he shall come 
upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from 
him all his armour wherein he trusted, and 
divideth his spoils. 

RECITATION 
XXV 

He that is not with me is against me ; and 
he that gather eth not with me scattereth. 

When the unclean spirit is gone ottt of a 
man, he walketh through dry places, seeking 
rest : and finding none, he saith, I will re- 
turn tuito my house whence I came out. 

And when he comet h, he findeth it swept 
and garnished. 

The7i goeth he, and taketh to him seven 
other spirits more wicked than himself ; and 
they enter in, and dwell there : and the last 
state of that man is worse than the first. 

But he said, Yea, rather blessed are they 
that hear the zvord of God, and keep it. 



76 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

RECITATION 
XXVI 

And when the people were gathered thick 
together, he began to say, This is an evil 
generation : they seek a sign ; and thei^e 
shall no sign be give^i it, biit the sign of 
Jonas the prophet. 

For as Jonas was a sign ii^ito the Nine- 
vites, so shall also the So7i of 7nan be to this 
generation. 

The queen of the south shall rise up in the 
judgment with the 'inen of this generation, 
and condemn them : for she came from the 
utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom 
of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than 
Solomo7i is here. 

The onen of Nineveh shall rise ttp in the 
judgment with this generation, and shall 
condeinn it ; for they repented at the preach- 
ing of Jonas ; and, behold, a greater than 
Jonas is here. 

No man, zvhen he hath lighted a candle, 
putteth it in a secret place, neither tinder a 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



17 



bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which 
come in may see the light. 

RECITATION 
XXVII 

The light of the body is the eye : therefore 
when thine eye is single, thy whole body also 
is full of light ; but when thine eye is evil, 
thy body also is full of darkness. 

Take heed therefore, that the light which 
is in thee be not darkness. 

If thy zvhole body therefore be full of light, 
having no part dark, the whole shall be fill 
of light ; as when the bright shining of a 
candle doth give thee light. 

And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye 
Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup 
and the platter ; bztt your inward part is 
full of ravening and wickedness. 

Ye fools, did not he that made that which 
is withotit, make that which is within also f 

But rather give alms of stuh things as ye 
have ; and behold, all things are clean tmto 
you. 

Btit wo tmto you, Pharisees ! for ye tithe 



yd> HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

mint, and rtte, and all ma7iner of herbs, and 
pass over judgment and the love of God : 
these ought ye to have done, and not to leave 
the other ii7idone. 

Wo unto you, Pharisees ! for ye love the 
uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greet- 
ings in the markets. 

Wo tmto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 
crites / for ye are as graves which appear 
not, and the men that walk over them are not 
aware of them. 

RECITATION 
XXVIII 

And he said, Wo 2into you also, ye lazv- 
yers ! for ye lade men with burdens griev- 
ous to be borne, and ye yotcr selves touch not 
the burdens with one of your fingers. 

Wo unto you ! for ye bttild the sepulchres 
of the prophets, and your fathers killed 
them. Truly ye bear witness, that ye allow 
the deeds of your fathers : for they indeed 
killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 

Therefore also said the wisdom of God, 
I will send them prophets and apostles^ 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 79 

and some of them they shall slay and per. 
sectite : 

That the blood of all the prophets, which 
was shed from the foundatzo7i of the world, 
may be required of this generation : 

From the blood of A bel unto the blood of 
Zacharias, which perished between the altar 
and the temple : Verily, I say unto you, It 
shall be reqtnred of this generation. 

Wo unto you, lawyers / for ye have taken 
away the key of knowledge : ye entered not 
in yourselves, and them that were entering 
in ye hindered. 

RECITATION 
XXIX 

Beware ye of the leaveii of the Pharisees, 
which is hypocrisy. 

For there is nothing covered, that shall 
not be revealed ; neither hid, that shall not 
be known. 

Therefore, whatsoever ye have spoken in 
darkness shall be heard in the light ; and 
that which ye have spoken in the ear in 



8o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

closets, shall be proclaimed upon the house- 
tops. 

And I say ti7ito you, my frze?ids, Be not 
afraid of them that kill the body, and after 
that have no more that they can do. 

Bid I will forewarn you zahom ye shall 
fear : Fear him, which after he hath killed, 
hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto 
you, Fear him. 

Are not five sparrows sold for two farth- 
ings, and not one of thein is forgotten before 
God. 

But even the very hairs of your head are 
all mimbered. Fear not therefore : ye are 
of more vahte than many sparrows. 

Also I say tmto you. Whosoever shall 
confess me before men, him shall the Son of 
man also confess before the angels of God. 

But he that denieth me before men, shall 
be denied before the angels of God. 

And whosoever shall speak a word against 
the Son of man, it shall be forgiven hi^n ; 
but u7ito him that blasphemeth against the 
Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 8 1 

And when they bring you into the syna- 
gogues, and tcnto magistrates, and powers, 
take ye no thought how or what thing ye 
shall answer, or ivhat ye shall say : 

For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the 
same hour what ye ought to say. 

RECITATION 
XXX 

And one of the company said unto him, 
Master, speak to my brother, that he divide 
the inheritance with me. 

And he said unto him, Man, who made 
me a judge or a divider over you ? 

And he said unto them, Take heed, and 
beware of covetotisness, for a mans life con- 
sisteth not in the abtmdance of the things 
which he possesseth. 

And he spake a parable unto them, say- 
ing. The ground of a certain rich man 
broitght forth plentiftdly : 

And he thought within himself, saying. 
What shall I do, because I have no room 
where to bestow my fruits f 



82 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

And he said, This will I do : I will pull 
down my barns, and build greater ; and 
there will I bestow all my fruits and my 
goods. 

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast 
m-uch goods laid up for Tnany years ; take 
thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 

But God said unto hi^n. Thou fool, this 
night thy soul shall be required of thee : the7i 
whose shall those things be which thou hast 
provided? 

So is he that layeth up treasure for him- 
self, and is not rich toward God. 

RECITATION 
XXXI 

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore 
I say unto you, take no thought for your life, 
what ye shall eat ; neither for the body what 
ye shall p^it on. 

The life is more than meat, and the body 
is more than raiment. 

Consider the ravens : for they neither sow 
nor reap ; which 7ieither have storehouse. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 83 

nor barn; and God feedeth them. How 
much 7nore are ye better than the fowls ? 

And which of yott with taking thought 
can add to his stature one cubit f 

If ye then be not able to do that thing 
which is least, why take ye thought for the 
rest f 

Consider the lilies how they grow. They 
toil not, they spin not ; and yet I say unto 
you, that Solomon in all his glory was not 
arrayed like one of these. 

If then God so clothe the grass, which is 
to-day in the field, and to-7norrow is cast into 
the oven ; how much more will he clothe you, 
O ye of little faith f 

And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what 
ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful 
mind. 

For all these things do the nations of the 
world seek after : and your Father knoweth 
that ye have need of these things. 

But rather seek ye the kingdom of God, 
and all these thins's shall be added unto 
you. 



84 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

RECITATION 
XXXII 

Fear not, little flock ; for it is your Fath- 
er s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 

Sell that ye have, and give alms ; provide 
yourselves bags which wax not old, a treas- 
ure in the heavens that faileth not, where no 
thief approacheth, neither moth corrtipteth. 

For where your treasure is, there will 
your heart be also. 

Let your loins be girded about, and your 
lights burning ; 

And ye yourselves like unto 7nen that wait 
for their lord, when he will return from 
the wedding ; that, when he comet h and 
knocketh, they may open unto him immedi- 
ately. 

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord 
when he cometh shall find watching : verily, 
I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, 
and m,ake them to sit down to meat, and will 
come forth and serve them. 

And if he shall come in the second watch, 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 85 

or come in the third watch, and find them so, 
blessed are those servants. 

And this know, that if the good man of 
the house had known what hour the thief 
would come, he would have watched, and not 
have suffered his house to be broken through. 

Be ye therefore ready also : for the Son of 
man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 

RECITATION 
XXXIII 

Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest 
thou this parable unto us, or even to all ? 

And the Lord said, Who then is that 
faithful and wise steward, whom his lord 
shall make roller over his household, to give 
them their portion of meat in dtLe season f 

Blessed is that servaiit, whom his lord 
when he cometh shall find so doing. 

Of a truth I say tmto you, that he will 
make him rtder over all that he hath. 

But and if that servant say in his heart. 
My lord delay eth his coming ; and shall 
begin to beat the men-servants, and maidens, 
and to eat a7id drink, and to be drttnken : 



86 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

The lord of that servant will come in a 
day when he looketh not for him, and at an 
hour when he is not aware, and zvill cut him 
in sunder, and will appoint him his portion 
with the unbelievers. 

And that servant which knew his lord's 
will, and prepared not himself, neither did 
according to his will, shall be beaten with 
many stripes. 

But he that knew not, and did commit 
things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with 
few stripes. For imto whomsoever much is 
given, of him shall be 7n2ich required ; and 
to whom, men have committed much^ of him 
they will ask the more. 

RECITATION 
XXXIV 
/ am come to send fire on the earth, and 
what will I, if it be already kindled? 

But I have a baptisfn to be baptized with ; 
and how am I straitened till it be accom- 
plished ! 

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 8/ 

on earth ? I tell you^ Nay : but rather 
division : 

For from henceforth there shall be five in 
one house divided, three against two, and two 
against three. 

The father shall be divided against the 
son, and the son against the father ; the 
mother against the daughter, and the daugh- 
ter against the m^other ; the mother-in-law 
against her daughter-in-law, and the daugh- 
ter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 

RECITATION 
XXXV 

And he said also to the people, When ye 
see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway 
ye say. There comet h a shower ; and so it is. 

And when ye see the south wind blow, ye 
say. There will be heat ; and it coineth to 
pass. 

Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of 
the sky, and of the earth ; but how is it, that 
ye do not discern this time ? 

Yea, and why even of yourselves pcdge ye 
not what is right f 



88 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

When thou goest with thine adversary to 
the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give 
diligence that thou may est be delivered from 
him ; lest he hale thee to the J2idge, and the 
Judge deliver thee to the officer, and the 
officer cast thee into prison. 

I tell thee, thou shall not depart thence, 
till thou hast paid the very last mite. 

RECITATION 
XXXVI 

And Jesus answering said unto them, 
Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners 
above all the Galileans, because they suffered 
such things f 

I tell you. Nay ; but, except ye repent, ye 
shall all likewise perish. 

Or those eighteen, 7Lpon whom the tower 
in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that 
they were sinners above all men that dwelt 
in Jerusalem f 

I tell yo2i. Nay ; bttt, except ye repent, ye 
shall all likewise perish. 

He spake also this parable : A certain 
77ian had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard ; 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 89 

and he came and sought fruit thereon, and 
found none. 

The7i said he unto the dresser of his vine- 
yardy Behold, these three years I come seek- 
ing fruit on this fig-tree, and find none : cut 
it down ; why cumber eth it the ground f 

And he answering, said unto him. Lord, 
let it alone this year also, till I shall dig 
abotit it, and dtmg it : 

And if it bear fr-uit, well : and if not, 
then after that tho7t shall cut it down. 

RECITATION 
XXXVII 

Woman, thou art loosed from thine in- 
firmity. 

The Lord then answered him, and said, 
Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on 
the sabbath loose his ox or his ass fro7n the 
stall, and lead him away to watering f 

And ought not this woman, being a dattgh- 
ter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, 
lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this 
bond on the Sabbath day f 

Then said he. Unto what is the kingdom 



90 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

of God like f and whereunto shall I resemble 
it? 

It is like a grain of mustard-seed, which 
a man took, and cast into his garden, and it 
grew, and waxed a great tree ; and the 
fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 

And again he said, Wheretmto shall I 
liken the kingdom of God? 

It is like leaven, which a woman took and 
hid in three measures of meal, till the whole 
was leavened. 

RECITATION 
XXXVIII 

Then said one unto him, Lord, are there 
few that be saved ? 

And he said unto them, Strive to enter in 
at the strait gate : for many, I say unto yoti, 
will seek to enter in, and shall 7tot be able. 

When once the master of the house is 
risen tip, and hath shut to the door, a7id ye 
begin to stand without, and to knock at the 
door, saying. Lord, Lord, open tinto us ; and 
he shall ansiver and say unto you, I know 
yott not whence ye are : 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 91 

Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten 
and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast 
taught in our streets. 

But he shall say, I tell you, I know you 
not whence ye are : depart from me, all ye 
workers of iniquity. 

There shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, 
and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the king- 
dom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 

And they shall come from the east, and 
from the west, and from the north, a?id 
from the sotdh, and shall sit down in the 
kingdom of God. 

And behold, there are last which shall be 
first ; and there are first which shall be 

last. 

RECITATION 

XXXIX 

And he said unto them, Go ye and tell 
that fox, Behold, I cast otct devils, and I do 
cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third 
day I shall be perfected. 

Nevertheless, I must walk to-day and to- 



92 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

morrow, and the day following : for it can- 
not be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the 
prophets, and stonest them that are sent 
unto thee ; how often woidd I have gathered 
thy children together, as a hen doth gather 
her brood under her wings, and ye would 
not ! 

Behold, your house is left unto yotc deso- 
late. And verily, I say unto you. Ye shall 
not see me, until the time come when ye shall 
say. Blessed is he that cometh in the na7ne of 
the Lord. 

And Jesus answering, spake unto the 
lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful 
to heal on the sabbath day ? 

And answered them, saying, Which of 
you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a 
pit, and will not straightzvay pull him otit 
on the sabbath day f 

When thoti art bidden of any man to a 
wedding, sit not down in the highest room, 
lest a more honorable man than thou be 
bidden of him ; 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 93 

And he that bade thee and him come 
and say to thee, Give this man place ; and 
thou begin with shame to take the lowest 
room. 

But when thou art bidden, go and sit 
down in the lowest room ; that when he that 
bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, 
Friend, go up higher : then shall thou have 
worship in the presence of them that sit at 
meat with thee. 

For whosoever exalt eth Jmnself shall be 
abased, and he that humbleth himself shall 
be exalted. 

RECITATION 
XL 
Then said he also to him that bade him, 
When thou makest a dinner or a supper, 
call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, 
neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neigh- 
bours ; lest they also bid thee again, and a 
recompense be made thee. 

But when thou makest a feast, call the 
poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 

Andthoti shall be blessed: for they cannot 



94 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



recompense thee : for thou shalt be recom- 
pensed at the resurrection of the just. 

Then said he unto him, A certain m,an 
made a great supper, and bade many : 

A7td sent his servant at supper-time, to 
say to them, that were bidden, Come, for all 
things are now ready. 

And they all with one consent began to 
make excuse. The first said tinto him, I 
have bought a piece of grou7id, and I must 
needs go and see it : I pray thee have me 
exctised. 

And another said, I have bought five yoke 
of oxen, and I go to prove the7n : I pray thee 
have me excused. 

And another said, I have married a wife : 
and therefore I can^iot come. 

So that servant ca7ne, and showed his 
lord these things. Then the master of the 
house being angry, said to his servant, 
Go out quickly into the streets and ladies 
of the city, and bring in hither the poor, 
and the mahited, and the halt, and the 
blind. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 95 

And the servant said, Lord, it is done 
as thou hast commanded, and yet there is 
room-. 

And the lord said tmto the servant, Go 
ottt i7ito the highways and hedges, and com- 
pel them to come in, that my house may be 
filled. 

For I say unto you, that none of those men 
which were bidden shall taste of my supper. 

RECITATION 
XLI 

And there went great multitudes with 
him : and he turned and said unto them, 

If any man come to 77ie and hate not his 
father, and mother, and wife and children, 
and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own 
life also, he cannot be my disciple. 

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, 
and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 

For which of yoti, intending to build a 
tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth 
the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish 
it? 

Lest haply after he hath laid the founda- 



96 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Hon, and is not able to finish, all that behold 
it begin to mock him, 

Saying, this man began to build, and was 
not able to finish. 

Or what kiitg, going to make war agaiitst 
another king, sitteth not down first, and 
consulteth whether he be able with teji thozt- 
sand to meet him that cometh against him 
with twenty thousand? 

Or else, while the other is yet a great way 
off, he sendeth an ambassage, aizd desireth 
conditions of peace. 

So likewise, whosoever he be ofi you that 
forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be 
my disciple. 

RECITATION 
XLII 

Salt is good : but if the salt hath lost its 
savotLr, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 

It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for 
the dunghill ; but men cast it otit. He that 
hath ears to hea.r, let hi?7i hear. 

And he spake this parable unto them, 
saying, 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 97 

What man of you having a hundred 
sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave 
the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and 
go after that which is lost, until he find 
it? 

And when he hath found it, he layeth it 
on his shoulders, rejoicing. 

And when he comet h home, he calleth 
together his friends and neighbours, saying 
unto them. Rejoice with me ; for I have 
found my sheep which was lost. 

I say unto yoti, that likewise joy shall be 
in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, 
m^ore than over ninety and nine just persons 
which need no repentance. 

Either what woman having ten pieces of 
silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a 
candle, and sweep the house, and seek dili- 
gently till she find it f 

And when she hath found it, she calleth 
her friends and her neighbours together, say- 
ing. Rejoice with me ; for I have found the 
piece which I had lost. 
7 



Chapter V. 

In which is set forth the merits of the 
ancient and honorable game of chess 
as an educational agent and why i 
have substituted it for higher math- 
ematics in my system of education ; 
and whoever readeth this brief 
chapter will perhaps learn some 
things that will be helpful to him 
and his in many ways and may be 
inclined to look upon my position 
with more respect than he would 
otherwise do. 

NO one knows who invented the game 
of Chess or when it was first played 
among men. It is not only older than 
knowledge but older than tradition. The 
Chinese, who have played it immemorially, 
tell us it was before their ancestors. The 
oldest tombs in Assyria bear witness that 

(98) 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 99 

the great and wise of the earth were adepts 
ten millennials ago. 

It is purely intellectual. It is not a sport 
or a pastime or amusement, but a strenuous 
exercise of the mental faculties. A match 
to the death, between the mental forces of 
two individuals who enter the lists to fight 
a-Voutrance. 

Not only does no one know when or 
where or by whom the game of Chess was 
invented, but of all the thousands upon 
thousands of the ablest men of all races and 
nations who have played it, no one has ever 
claimed that he has mastered it. The great 
ones of the earth, whose minds were fash- 
ioned for vast conceptions and the largest 
strategy ; statesmen who have ruled cabinets 
and used thrones simply as mediums through 
which to work out their far-reaching plans; 
jurists, sagacious, gifted with discrimination 
beyond the order of men and whose vast 
learning and judicial sense made the ermine 
that bordered their judgment robes synony- 
mous with justice ; generals whose cam- 



lOO HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

paigns have become the text-books on the 
art of war and whose minds could grasp the 
changing conditions of battle on the instant, 
and, with a prescience that seems more than 
human, divine the objective point of an 
undelivered attack and out of impending 
defeat snatch victory ; and that class of men 
known as experts, professional students of 
the game, whose heads slowly whitened over 
the board which their eyes had studied 
ceaselessly from youth to age — all these 
have confessed openly and without reserve 
that they have never mastered the game. It 
is a depth, pure, serenely placid, the golden 
bottom of which no human plummet has 
ever sounded. 

Believing as I do that the really great, 
primal facts of earth and heaven which con- 
cern mankind were never discovered by 
humans but were brought from some higher 
sphere, inhabited by superior beings, I have 
long felt that the game of Chess had been 
first played on the earth by beings that were 
visitant from some higher realm. For surely 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. lOI 

if human capacity were equal to its invention 
and mastery, some one, during all the thou- 
sands of years it has been played by the most 
studious, most gifted and capable of men, 
would have been found who could solve the 
mastery of its possibilities and mark out the 
line of its limitation. But no such one has 
ever lived. And before the game of Chess 
the ablest, the proudest and vainest of men 
forever keep the pose and countenance of 
modesty and awe. 

The game of Chess is a game of so high 
an order that it is never played save by 
refined and cultivated people. Its manner- 
isms are courteous and courtly. At its 
board a man must be a gentleman and a 
woman a lady. There can be no resting the 
elbows on the table ; no tilting back of 
chairs, no talking and giggling, no exclama- 
tions of joy at winning or sorrow at losing. 
Any expression of vanity or rage, any 
manifestation of elation or temper, would 
cost a player too dearly to indulge in a 
repetition. A girl who learns to play Chess 



I02 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

and plays it a few years in the style of its 
best traditions has, necessarily, acquired a 
mannerism of bearing and behavior that is 
simply ideal. She has learned how to seat 
herself and rise from a chair with ease and 
dignity ; her pose has become perfect, her 
attitude graceful, her expression calmly 
animated. She has learned how to fight a 
losing fight and be irretrievably beaten with- 
out being frightened at impending disaster 
or manifesting disappointment or vexation 
at defeat. 

" Father, who is the best-educated 
person ?" 

That was the question asked one even- 
ing as the class were carousing on hickory 
nuts and sweet cider in front of the old 
fireplace. 

"He who is able to concentrate, at any 
instant of time, under any conditions of dis- 
traction, all the faculties of his mind and 
make the right decision, say the right word 
or do the right deed, is the best-educated 
person." 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



103 



That was my answer. 

Concentration of every power and faculty 
at the demand of an emergency. That is 
what enables the Lawyer to gain his case ; 
the Physician to save his patient ; the Gen- 
eral to win the battle ; the Financier to 
escape disaster. And it is because the 
playing of Chess calls for the concentration 
of all the mental faculties, and develops 
them more rapidly and to a greater degree 
than any other method of mental exertion 
known to me, that I gave it the place of 
higher mathematics in the education of my 
children. 

The playing of a game of Chess occupies 
one or more hours. From two to four 
hours is probablythe average with players 
fairly advanced in knowledge and experience. 
From the time the first move is made until 
the Checkmate is given, there is on the 
part of the contestants no cessation of 
thought, no let up in attention. The mind, 
with all the force and energy of which it is 
capable, is concentrated to the task before 



I04 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

it. The battle is on and every nerve in the 
fighters feels the tension of it. The highest 
strategy and the most perfect technical skill 
are alike demanded. The thrust and parry 
of fencers supply us with no illustration of 
what is taking place on the terrible board 
between the two players. Not a battle, but 
a campaign, in which are many battles, is 
being fought out. The plan of the campaign 
adopted by either player gives the measure 
of his capacity. The combinations are vast 
and intricate. The assaults direct and fierce. 
The defense spirited and courageous. The 
retreats masterly. The reformations of 
either line rapid and skillful. The highest 
order of two mortal forces are in contention. 
Mind is pitted against mind. Intellect 
against intellect. Love, hate, pity, are not 
felt. In the midst of his great battles Grant 
sat on a log calmly smoking his cigar. 
Wellington sat upright in his saddle, coolly 
observant, motionless as a statue. Bona- 
parte gave his orders in a monotone. Con- 
centration of mind, perfect^ continuous^ is 
Chess playing. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 105 

A boy can study a problem of Euclid 
with a cigarette in his mouth and his body 
in three chairs. He couldn't play Chess in 
that style. A girl can work out a sum in al- 
gebra and incidentally discuss the merits and 
demerits of a new hat with her chum. Her 
recitation the next day will be perfect. But 
if she played Chess in that mental style she 
would be beaten by a novice. And if the 
ability to concentrate one's mind, to summon 
up all one's intellectual forces to the accom- 
plishment of a desired result, at any instant 
of time, under any condition of environment, 
is that form of education that is to be 
desired to fit a girl or boy for the realities 
and emergencies of life, then I do not hesi- 
tate to say, that the playing of Chess is far 
and away the best method of obtaining it. 

Chess must not be thought of as a 
"silent game." When played in competition 
publicly, for a prize or for fame, the rules 
of behavior are necessarily strict and con- 
versation and even remark are barred. But 
when played for family or social entertain- 



Io6 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

ment or for improvement of knowledge of 
the game, Chess is the most delightful and 
fascinating game known. Played for this 
purpose all arbitrary rules are barred and 
each move is open to discussion. And how 
animated the discussion often becomes. For 
the multiplicity of combinations is so vast 
and the intricacies of Chess so profound, that 
a strong case can be made for and against 
almost any move after the opening moves, 
and even the opening ones are so varied and 
so different in design and result in the game 
that even the masters of chess cannot come 
to agreement as to which form of opening 
is the best. 

May I ask my reader to bear in mind 
that all conversations and discussions around 
a chessboard are purely intellectual ? The 
game has no religious, social, reformative, 
political, or financial significance whatever. 
Playing it in high form provokes no more 
feeling than demonstrating a problem in 
geometry. With us the conversational game 
is a great favorite. The entire family gather 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 107 

around the board. There are no "sides" 
taken. It is Black vs. White, and neither is 
favored. Each has the best that our united 
knowledge can give it, the object of the 
game being to advance ourselves 171 the 
knowledge of chess playing. 

These games often last several evenings. 
Sometimes we limit ourselves to twenty- 
moves for each evening. This as a rule 
prevents the play of an evening extending 
over two hours. Very often instead of play- 
ing original games we play some famous 
game as it was played by Lowenthall and 
Morphy, or other celebrated champions, and 
play it as they played it. This method not 
only makes a game a delightful entertain- 
ment, but confirms one in style of playing 
that is in harmony with the best traditions 
of chess. Indeed a beginner in this noble 
game would do well never to play an origi- 
nal game for the first six months of his 
practice, but play the games of the masters, 
playing them slowly and — if possible — con- 
versationally with some player who is well 



I08 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

advanced in chess knowledge. By this 
method he will find himself at the end 
of his novitiate not only master of a vast 
amount of chess knowledge, but also famil- 
iar with the biography of chess and playing 
with such chess manners and in so high 
a style that he will win the regard of 
all who, whether from courtesy or pleas- 
ure, play with him. 

One evening, playing with one of my 
girls (of fourteen years), at the thirtieth 
move the game came to its crisis. In chess 
the apprehension of this is often a matter 
of intuition rather than knowledge. We 
were by mutual agreement playing under 
time limit that neither could take longer 
than thirty minutes in making a move. For 
twenty-seven minutes the little woman had 
sat with her eyes fastened on the board, 
perfectly posed, her face tranquil as a 
mountain pool when no wind is, without a 
motion. Then she lifted her eyes to mine 
and calmly said, " Father, if I have made no 
mistake as to how the game stands, the 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 109 

Blacks (which were hers) will give the 
Whites (which were mine) checkmate in 
five moves." And they did. 

And yet, fifteen minutes later she was 
sleeping the sleep of healthy childhood with- 
out a thought or even a filament of a dream 
of chess or study or earthly care lying 
athwart the calm surface of her sweet repose. 

How I taught my dear ones to play this 
difficult game at such an early age in such 
a way as not to overtax their mental powers 
shall now be explained, for to some who 
have knowledge of chess it may seem a risk- 
ful thing to do. And by the method 
generally followed it would be. I first 
obtained a set of wooden chess men, for 
which I paid one dollar ; a sizable chess 
board at seventy-five cents, and a work in 
two volumes known as " Staunton's Chess 
Praxis," edited by H. Staunton, an English 
expert of standing, and published in London 
in i860. These volumes I purchased of 
Scribner's Sons, in New York, and hold 
them in the highest esteem for their general 



no HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

excellence considered from the chess point 
of view, but especially because of the copious 
selection of illustrative games which distin- 
guish them. I commend these volumes, 
beyond any other known to me, to all who 
would learn how to play this noble game, 
by the method followed by me and which 
has been vindicated by the ease and rapidity 
with which my children have learned it. In 
a single year of practice the two older 
(eleven and thirteen) were able to put up a 
good stiff game, of sufficient high quality to 
hold an average adult player in our clubs to 
at least a two hours' sitting. 

The first evening was devoted to a 
nomenclature and proper placement of the 
chess men. This, of course, was very 
entertaining to the children, for it was 
altogether novel and called forth from their 
teacher scraps of chess knowledge : that our 
nomenclature of the men is comparatively 
a modern matter and that long before the 
pieces we call the Bishops were so called, 
or the office or rank existed, or the Chris- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. m 

tian Church was born, these pieces stood 
beside the King and Queen representing 
the close connection of religion and gov- 
ernment and the reliance which human 
sovereignty could ever place on the divine ; 
that the pieces we call " Knights " came 
out of the Crusades, as did the *' Castles," 
new names for the symbolization of the 
military power which gave pomp and splen- 
dor to royalty in peace and safety in war ; 
that the *' Pawns " stood for the yeomen 
or common soldiery, vast in numbers, first 
to open the attack, strictly disciplined, 
fearless, boldly blocking the charging 
Knight, unflinchingly facing the frowning 
Bishops whose power reached from side to 
side of their world, and who, directed by 
a commander who knew how to direct 
them aright, had successfully breasted up 
against the rage of Royalty itself, checked 
the onset of the dreadful Queen and won 
the victory on many a hard-fought field 
by the solidity of their formation and the 
sheer stubbornness of their courage. No 



112 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

subject in the world can be made more 
entertaining to clever children than the game 
of chess, its history, its great players, and 
the memorable contests that have made the 
names of its great champions famous. A 
chess player must have been a poor student 
of the game and a poor player if he cannot 
talk entertainingly to children about the 
greatest of all games known to men. What 
a volume could be written on Tales of Chess 
and Chess Playing. 

The second evening was given to the 
movements and powers of the several pieces 
and nothing farther. Please bear in mind 
that the chief maxim of my method is that 
the mental capacity of a child, however 
limited, shall not be taxed, and that no such 
thing as "brain weariness " or ''headache" 
shall ever be known by one of my little 
pupils. Hence the word "study" is ignored, 
and application, however intense, is in the 
form of entertainment the pleasure of which 
is to the toil what lubrication is to the axle 
of a wagon wheel. It is unpleasant work 
that kills. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 113 

It chanced that the teacher of this class, 
composed of three pupils, seven, nine, and 
eleven years old respectively, was in his 
younger days a chess player and at twenty- 
five played a pretty stiff game among 
amateurs of good standing. Indeed, chess 
playing was a favorite recreation with him, 
and the best form of this recreation was 
Chess Solitaire, or playing both sides him- 
self. These "Chess Studies" or "Stud- 
ies in Chess," as they should be called, were 
full of high entertainment and mental dis- 
cipline and gave him an insight into the 
resources of the game beyond what playing 
contestant games could have done. This he 
came to know years afterwards. But he 
had not looked at a chess board for thirty 
years and hence was glad to begin at the 
beginning again. 

The game with which we began was 
played by Lowenthall vs. Morphy, in Lon- 
don, when the latter was at the zenith of 
his meteoric and splendid career. As it 
may be of interest to many to play it, and 



114 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



help them to follow our method and reap 
the benefit of a practice which has been so 
helpful to us, we transcribe it to our page. 



FIRST GAME— PHILIDOR'S DEFENCE. 



White. (Mr. Morphy.) 

1. P. to K's 4th. 

2. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 

3. P. to Q's 4th. 

4. Q. takes P. 

5. Q. B. to K's 3d. 

6. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 

7. K. B. to Q. B's 4th. 

8. Q. to Q's 2d. 

9. Kt takes Kt. 

10. Castles. (Kings side.) 

11. P. to K's B's 4th. 

12. P. to K. B's 5th. 

13. Q. to K's 2d. 

14. Q. R. to Q's square. 

15. B. to Q's 5th. 

16. Kt. takes B. 

17. R. takes Kt. 

18. Q. to K. Kt's 4th. 

19. Q. R. to Q's 3d. 

20. Q. to K. Kt's 3d. 

21. K. R. to Q's sq. 



Black. (Mr. Lowenthall.) 

1. P. to K's 4th. 

2. P. to Q's 3d. 

3. P. takes P. 

4. Q. B. to Q's 2d. 

5. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 

6. K. B. to K's 2d. 

7. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 

8. Q. Kt. to K's 4th. 

9. P. takes Kt. 

10. Castles. 

11. B. to Q's 3d. 

12. B. to Q. B's 3d. 

13. P. to K. R's 3d. 

14. Q. to K's 2d. 

15. B. takes B. 

16. Kt takes Kt. 

17. P. to K. B's 3d. 

18. P. to Q. B's 3d. 

19. B. to Q. B's 4th. 

20. Q. R. to Q's sq. 

21. R. takes R. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



115 



22, 


R. takes R. 


22. 


R. to Q's sq. 


23- 


B, takes B. 


23- 


Q. takes B. (ch.) 


24. 


Q. to K. B's 2cl. 


24. 


Q. takes Q. (ch.) 


25- 


K. takes Q. 


25- 


R. takes R. 


26. 


P. takes R. 


26. 


P. to Q. B's 4th. 


27. 


P. to K. Kt's 4th. 


27. 


K. to B's sq. 


28. 


P. to Q. R's 4th. 


28. 


P. to Q. Kt's 3d. 


29. 


K. to K. Kt's 3d. 


29. 


K. to B's 2d. 


30- 


K. to K. R's 4th. 


3°- 


K. to B's sq. 


31- 


K. to K. R's 5th. 


31- 


K. to B's 2d. 


32- 


P. to Q. Kt's 3d. 


32- 


K. to B's sq. 


33- 


K. to Kt's 6th. 


53- 


K. to Kt's sq. 


34- 


P. to K. R's 3d. 


34- 


K. to B's sq. 


35- 


P. to K. R's 4th. 


35- 


K. to Kt's sq. 


36. 


P. to K. Kt's 5th. 


3^- 


K. R. P. takes P. 


37- 


P. takes P. 


37. 


P. takes P. 


38. 


K. takes P. 


38. 


K. to B's 2d. 


39- 


K. to R's 4th. 


39- 


K. to K's 2d. 


40. 


K. to Kt's 4th. 


40. 


K. to B's 3d. 


41. 


K. to R's 5th. 


41. 


P. to Q. R's 3d. 


42. 


K. to R's 4th. 


42. 


P. to K. Kt's 3d. 


43- 


P. to Q. R's 5th. 


43- 


P. takes Q. R's P. 


44. 


P. takes K. Kt's P. 


44. 


K. takes P. 


45- 


K. to Kt's 4th. 


45- 


P. to Q. R's 5th. 


46. 


P. takes P. 


46. 


P. to Q. R's 4th. 


47- 


K. to B's 3d. 


47- 


K. to B's 3d. 


48. 


K. to B's 2d. 


48. 


K. to B's 2d. 


49. 


K. to B's 3d. 


49. 


K. to Kt's 2d. 



Il6 HOV/ I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



50- 


K. to B's 2d. 


50- 


K. to B's 3d. 


51- 


K. to K. Kt's sq. 


51- 


K. to K. Kt's 4th, 


52- 


K. to Kt's 2d. 


52- 


K, to B's 5th. 


S3- 


K. to B's 2d. 


53- 


P. to Q. B's 5th 


54- 


P. takes P. 


54- 


K. takes K's P. 


55- 


K. to K's 2d. 


55- 


K. to Q's 5th. 


56. 


K. to B's 3d. 


56. 


K. takes P. 


57- 


K. to K's 4th. 


57- 


K. to Q. Kt's 5th, 


58. 


K. takes K's P. 


58. 


K. takes P. 


59- 


K. to Q's 4th. 


59- 


K. to Q. Kt's 5th, 



SECOND GAME — PETROFF'S DEFENCE. 



White. (Mr. Lowenthall.) 

1. P. to K's 4th. 

2. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 

3. Kt. takes P. 

4. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 

5. P. to Q's 4th. 

6. B. to Q's 3d. 

7. Castles. 

8. P. to Q. B's 4th. 

9. P. takes P. 

10. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 

11. P. takes Kt. 

12. Q. B. to K. B's 4th. 

13. B. takes B. 

14. Kt. to K. Kt's 5th. 



Black. (Mr. Morphy.) 

1. P. to K's 4th. 

2. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 

3. P. to Q's 3d. 

4. Kt. takes P. 

5. P. to Q's 4th. 

6. B. to K's 2d. 

7. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 

8. Q. B. to K's 3d. 

9. Q. B. takes P. 

10. Kt. takes Kt. 

11. Castles. 

12. K. B. to Q's 3d. 

13. Q. takes B. 

14. P. to K. B's 4th. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 117 

15. P. to Q. B's 4th. 15. B. takes K. Kt's P. 

16. K. takes B. 16. Q. to K. Kt's 3d. 

17. P. to K. B's 4th. 17. P. to K. R's 3d. 

18. P. to Q's 5th. 18. Kt. to Q's sq. 

19. P. to K. R's 4th. 19. P. takes Kt. 

20 K. R. P. takes P. 20. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 

21. Q. to K. B's 3d. 21. Kt. to K. R's 3d. 

22. Q. to K. Kt's 3d. 22. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 

23. P. to Q. B's 5th. 23. Q. R. to Q's sq. 

24. B. to Q. B's 4th. 24. P. to Q. Kt's 4th. 

25. B. to Q. Kt's 3d. 25. P. to Q. R's 4th. 

26. Q. R. to K's sq. 26. K. R. to K's sq. 

27. Q. R. to K's 6th. 27. R. takes R. 

28. P. takes R. 28. K. to B's sq. 

29. P. takes Kt. 29. P. to Q. R's 5th, 

30. R. to Q's sq. 30. R. takes R. 

31. B. takes R. 31. Q. to Q. B's 3d. (ch.) 

32. B. to K. B's 3d. 32. Q. takes P. 

33. P. to K. Kt's 6th. 33. Q. to Q's 3d. 

34. Q. to K. Kt's 5th. 34. Q. to Q's 7th. (ch.) 

35. K. to K. R's 3d. 35. Q. to Q's 6th. 

36. Q. to K. R's 5th. 36. K. to K's 2d. 

37. Q. to K. R's 4th. (ch.) 37. K. to Q's 2d. 

38. K. to Kt's 3d. 58. Q. to her 3d. 

39. Q. to K. R's 8th. 39. Q. takes P. (ch.) 

40. K. to B's 2d. 40. Q. takes P. 

41. P. to Q. R's 3d. 41. Q. to K's 2d. 

42. K. to Kt's 3d. 42. Q. to K's 8th. (ch.) 



Il8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

43. K. to Kt's 2d. 43. Q. to Q's 7th. (ch.) 

44. K. to Kt's 3d. 44. Q. to K's 8th. (ch.) 

And the game was drawn. 



THIRD GAME.— RUY LOPEZ' KNIGHT'S 
OPENING. 



White. (Mr. Lowenthall.) 

1. P. to K's 4th. 

2. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 

3. B. to Q. Kt's 5th. 

4. P. to Q. B's 3d. 

5. Castles. 

6. P. to Q's 4th. 

7. Q. Kt. to Q. R's 3d. 

8. Q. Kt. to Q. B's 4th. 

9. Q. Kt. to K's 3d. 

0. Q. Kt. to K. B's 5th. 

1. K. B. to Q's 3d. 

2. Q. Kt. to K. Kt's 3d. 

3. P. to Q. R's 4th. 

4. P. to Q. R's 5 th. 

5. P. to K. R's 3d. 

6. Q. to Q. Kt's 3d. 

7. K. R. to K's sq. 

8. Q. to Q. B's 2d. 

9. P. to Q. Kt's 4th. 
20. P. to Q. B's 4th. 



Black. (Mr. Morphy.) 

1. P. to K's 4th. 

2. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 

3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 

4. Q. to K's 2d, 

5. P. to K. B's 3d. 

6. K. B. to Q. Kt's 3d. 

7. Q. Kt. to Q's sq. 

8. Q. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 

9. P. to Q. B's 3d. 

0. Q. to K. B's sq. 

1. P. to K. Kt's 3d. 

2. P. to Q's 3d. 

3. Q. B. to K. Kt's 5th. 

4. B. to Q. B's 2d. 

5. B. to Q's 2d. 

6. Q. Kt. to Q's sq. 

7. B. to K's 3d. 

8. K. Kt. to K's 2d. 

9. Q. to K. Kt's 2d. 
20. Castles. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



119 



21. Q. B. to K's 3d. 21. Q. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 

22. P. to Q's 5th. 22. Q. B. to Q's 2d. 

23. Q. R. to Q's sq. 23. K. to R's sq. 

24. K. to R's sq. 24. P. takes P. 

25. K. P. takes P. 25, P. to K. B's 4th. 

26. Q. B. to Q. B's sq. 26. Q. R. to K's sq. 

27. B. to Q. Kt's 2d. 27. K. Kt. to K. Kt's sq. 

28. Q. to Q. B's 3d. 28. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 

29. B. to Q. Kt's sq. 29. K. R. to K. Kt's sq. 

30. R. to Q's 2d. 30. Q. to K. R's 3d. 

31. K. Kt. to K. R's 2d. 31. P. to K. B's 5th. 

32. Kt. to K's 4th. 32. Kt. takes Kt. 

33. B. takes Kt. 33. P. to K. Kt's 4th. 

34. P. to K. B's 3d. 34. Q. to K. R's 5th. 

35. K. R. to K. B's sq. 35. Kt. to K. R's 3d. 

36. Q. R. to K's 2d. 36, Kt. to K. B's 4th. 

37. B. takes Kt. 37. B. takes B. 

38. P. to Q. B's 5th. 38. Q. to K. R's 3d. 

39. K, R. to K's sq. 39. K. R. to K. B's sq. 

40. P. to Q. Kt's 5th. 40. Q. R. to Q. B's sq. 

41. Q. to Q. R's 3d. 41. K. to K. Kt's sq. 

42. P. to Q. Kt's 6th. 42. P. takes P. 

43. Q. B. P. takes P. 43. K. B. to Q's sq. 

44. K. R. to Q. B's sq. 44. R. takes R. (ch.) 

45. B. takes R. 5. Q. to K. Kt's 3d. 

46. Q. to Q. Kt's 4th. 46. Q. B. to Q's 6th. 

47. R. to K's sq. 47. K. B. to K's 2d. 

48. Kt. to K. Kt's 4th. 48. R. to K's sq. 



I20 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

49. B. to Q. Kt's 2d. 49, P. to K. R's 4th. 

50. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 50. P. to K. Kt's 5th. 

51. Q. to Q. B's 3d. 51. B. to K. B's 4th, 

52. K. B. P. takes P. 52. P. takes P. 

53. P. takes P. 53. B. takes P. 

54. Kt. takes B. 54. Q. takes Kt. 

55. R. to Q. B's sq. 55. K. to B's 2d. 

56. Q. to K. R's 3d. 56. Q. takes Q. (ch.) 

57. P. takes Q. 57. P. to K. B's 6th. 

58. R. to K. B's sq. 58. P. to K's sth. 

59. B. to Q's 4th. 59. B. to K. B's 3d. 

60. B. to K's 3d. 60. R. to Q. R's sq. 

61. B. to Q's 2d. 61. B. to Q's 5th. 

62. P. to K. R's 4th. 62. K. to Kt's 3d. 

63. K. to K. R's 2d. 63. R. to K. B's sq. 

64. K. to Kt's 3d. 64. P. to K. B's 7th. 

65. K. to Kt's 2d. 65. P. to K's 6th. 

66. B. to K's sq. 66. K. to R's 4th. 

67. K. to Kt's 3d. 67. P. takes B. Queens (ch.) 

And White surrendered. 

Gracie (seven years old) read the moves 
and to my vast surprise never made the 
least error in so doing. Maude and Ruby 
moved the "Blacks" (Lowenthall) and I 
moved the "Whites" (Morphy). The 
moves were made deliberately and accord- 
ing to a system that would insure accuracy. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 121 

Thus : 

(Gracie) "White — first move — Pawn to 
King's fourth space." 

(Mr. Murray) "White — first move — 
Pawn to King's fourth space." 

(Gracie) " Black — first move — Pawn to 
King's fourth." 

(Maude and Ruby) " Black — first move 

— Pawn to King's fourth." 

(Gracie) "White — second move — Knight 
to King's Bishop's third." 

(Mr. Murray) "White — second move — 
Knight to King's Bishop's third." 

(Gracie) "Black — second move — Pawn 
to Queen's third." 

(Maude and Ruby) " Black — second move 

— Pawn to Queen's third." 

(Gracie) "White — third move — Pawn 
to Queen's fourth." 

(Mr. Murray) "White — third move — 
Pawn to Queen's fourth." 

(Gracie) "Black — third move — Pawn 
takes Pawn." 

(Maude and Ruby) "Black — third move 

— Pawn takes Pawn," 



122 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

(Gracie) " White — fourth move — Queen 
takes Pawn." 

(Mr. Murray) "White — fourth move — 
Queen takes Pawn." 

(Gracie) "Black — fourth move — Queen's 
Bishop to Queen's second." 

(Maude and Ruby) " Black — fourth move 
— Queen's Bishop to Queen's second." 

And thus to the end of the game. 

By this method we played hundreds of 
evenings, both short and long games, with- 
out a single slip or error. And from the 
first, the power to thmk, speak, and do a 
thing accurately was developed. Mental dis- 
cipline had begun ! 

For three months each evening we played 
chess in this manner. Among the splendid 
results were these : — 

I St. The members of the class became 
acquainted with the best players of the 
world. 

2d. They were made familiar with the 
best games the best players had ever played. 

3d. They had acquired knowledge of 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 123 

the regular and best accredited gambets or 
openings of the game. 

4th. Their minds had become associated 
with high chess as expounded by the high- 
est exponents of the game. 

5th. Best of all, their minds had not 
been called upon to originate a single move 
nor their feelings been in the least elicited. 

It was education without high tension or 
the mental exhaustion of "hard study." 

Long before the first three months had 
passed my little chess players had got a 
pretty good idea of the rationale of the 
game ; the significance of the various open- 
ings, both regular and irregular, was appre- 
hended ; the value of the different pieces 
and of certain placements of the same per- 
ceived, and even the individualism of many 
of the great players appreciated. The 
game had, as it were, played itself into 
them, and because of that receptivity which 
distinguishes clever, healthy, and happy 
children from constant companionship with 
experts they were becoming experts them- 
selves. 



124 ^^^ ^ EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

And this was manifested by the fact that 
the games became more and more conver- 
sational and interrogative. Irregular open- 
ings (gambets) were criticised with intelli- 
gence ; errors in plan of attack or defense 
apprehended ; mistakes in combination of 
forces perceived and manifestly wrong moves 
instantly detected. Of course the appre- 
hension of this growth in knowledge on 
their part was a delight to me, for it proved 
that the masters were being mastered, and 
that before my pupils had ever played a 
game of chess they were becoming chess 
players ! 

It is one of the peculiar and distinguish- 
ing features of chess playing that few if any 
games have ever been played — perfectly ; 
and that the errors made in playing have 
been made by champions and experts of the 
game as well as by amateurs. Such con- 
centration of mind as public and champion- 
ship games call for is exhaustive, and to all 
human capacity there is a limit. To the 
overtaxed force there comes sooner or later 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 125 

a lapse or failure to respond to the call 
made upon it. Then, too, the game is often 
prolonged beyond human endurance. One 
record exists of two players playing for 
twenty-four consecutive hours. Neither could 
win, neither would quit. Grimly they fought 
it out, each equal in persistence, until at the 
twenty-fourth hour, when the judges and 
friends drew near to persuade them to allow 
the game to be entered on the record as a 
" drawn game," they discovered that both 
players were fast asleep I 

One evening we were playing the game 
played by two of the most noted profess- 
ionals, fifty years ago, in the world. Up to 
a certain point the game had been strongly 
played and with equal strength by either 
contestant. It was a fine example of high 
chess, and we were following it slowly and 
tracing each move from cause to result. It 
was a long game and had already lasted to 
the seventieth move, six hotirs, and we were 
following it in highest mood, when "Black" 
made a move that impejnled his Queen ! 



126 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

We each attributed the error to a blunder 
by Httle Gracie in reading it to us, but the 
little chessite resented the implication and 
held up the book for our inspection. We 
were aghast. There it was, sure enough, 
as called off to us. We simply sat and 
glared at the ill-fated Queen whom by his 
next move White would sweep from the 
board. But when Gracie called off the 
next move Black's Queen remained un- 
touched ! Then we knew that neither of 
these great masters of chess had perceived 
the monstrous error ! 

At the end of three months the class 
began to play original games, playing each 
evening, but limiting the games to one 
hour, sometimes to two hours, or again to 
twenty moves, with ten minutes to a move, 
the two older pupils playing against the 
teacher. Often our games were and are 
still conversational or class studies, the idea 
being that each move on both sides should 
be made with the collective knowledge of 
the entire class ; and we find it a most ex- 
cellent practice. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 127 

In this manner I have taught my children 
chess and the method pursued stands ap- 
proved ; for we have been playing only two 
years, but already the two older pupils, 
whether playing singly or in consultation, 
put up a very strong game against me, a 
game strong enough, I fancy, to make most 
amateurs play with discretion. 

The ability to think rightly, speak the 
right word and do the right thing under 
any condition of environment, in any emer- 
gency of life, that is the ability I seek to 
give them. And I regard chess playing 
able to give them this ability more quickly, 
easily, and surely than any other branch of 
human study. As an educational agent 
chess playing can scarcely be estimated too 
highly, and as a help to family entertain- 
ment it is simply incomparable. And if the 
education of our children does not result in 
making the family happier and lifting the 
style of conversation and manners of its 
several members in their intercourse with 
each other, it seems to me a very poor sort 
of education. 



Chapter VI. 

AND I EARNESTLY COMMEND TO THE TWO 
HOUSES OF CONGRESS THAT, ACTING IN 
CO-OPERATION WITH THE SEVERAL STATES, 
IT SHALL SPEEDILY COME TO PASS THAT 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
SHALL BE COMMITTED TO MEMORY BY 
EVERY PUPIL ABOVE EIGHT YEARS OF AGE 
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTRY 
TO THE END THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF 
LIBERTY AS EXPRESSED IN THE IMMOR- 
TAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 
AND THE FRAMING OF THE SAME INTO 
THE ORGANIC LAW OF THE NATION MAY 
BE KNOWN AND UNDERSTOOD BY EVERY 
CHILD BEFORE HE HAS COME TO HIS 
MAJORITY, THAT HE MAY HAVE BEEN 
PREPARED TO DISCHARGE RIGHTLY THE 
DUTIES OF PATRIOTIC CITIZENSHIP. WE 
HAVE PUT THE FLAG ABOVE THE SCHOOL- 

(128) 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 129 

HOUSE, NOW LET US PUT THE LOVE OF 
LIBERTY AND THE CONSTITUTION INTO 
THE HEARTS OF THE PUPILS." 

[ From a forthcoming message of President . ] 

IN view of the eulogies touching the 
nobiHty of these two marvelous pro- 
ductions it would seem only natural 
that they would have been as familiar to 
the people " as household words," but in 
point of fact it is probable that few of 
the millions of children in our public 
schools can recite a single paragraph of 
either. And such has been our apathy 
that it may be open to doubt whether 
teachers of whatever rank in our great Uni- 
versities or members of either House of 
Congress are in any happier condition 
touching this matter, than the ignorant 
children in our schools. 

Germany educates her children to love 
the Fatherland. France graduates them 
filled with affection and pride for the Tri- 
color. England gathers her Colonies around 
her knee and fills their ears with the Glory 



I30 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



of the British Empire. But we, heirs of 
and sponsors for an heritage of Liberty 
more precious than ever was or is now on 
the earth beyond these shores, multiply 
schoolhouses by the thousands and tax our- 
selves to maintain an army of teachers — 
for what ? To teach our boys to delve, 
trade, construct and amass fortunes, deeming 
it success if our boys know how to make 
money and our girls how to spend it faster 
than the boys and girls of any other country. 

I protest against this horrible state of 
things and suggest that it be remedied — 
and at once. It can be. The process is not 
long. 

The Declaration of Independence can 
be committed by every child in our common 
schools within one month. It takes a daily 
recitation of a few lines. That is all. 

The Constitution of the Country with 
its amendments can be easily committed in 
two Tnonths. In brief, the recitations of a 
few lines each day during one term will ac- 
complish the desired result. Is there any 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 131 

reason why it should not be done ? I have 
heard none. I can conceive of none. 

The Americanization of the Common 
School System is not, therefore, a matter 
that calls for any increase of the School 
Fund, nor does it put any extra labor upon 
pupils or teachers. The machinery to ac- 
complish the notable result is all constructed 
and ample. Let the States and Nation 
speak. Let the People say the word and it 
is done. 

Should it be a matter of surprise that the 
crudest ideas prevail among vast multitudes 
in our Country as to what Liberty means ? 
Who has taught them either the beneficence 
of it working through law and order or its 
limitations when expressed in individual 
action ? Do the children of the Russian 
serfs, of the Syrian immigrants, of the 
oppressed Polanders, of the Welch miners, 
and of the thousands who come pouring in 
upon us from countries where the word is 
never heard, know what the elorious term 
signifies ? What provision have we made 



132 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

that they shall be taught what it stands for 
here in the land where its vital and vitalizing 
significance constitutes the very foundation 
of law, order, and Government, and supplies 
us with the inspiration and the ideal of 
noble civic conduct. How shall this multi- 
tude — soon to be voters — become intelli- 
gent, patriotic citizens if they remain igno- 
rant of the principles on which, as a house 
on its foundations, the vast structure of 
our National Government rests ? Is there 
but one answer ? 

The Common Schools must do it. Where 
the language of Liberty is taught them the 
knowledge of Liberty and the principles of 
free institutions must be inculcated. What 
other machinery can we construct able to 
do this needful work ? We know of none. 

And why should not our Common Schools 
do this ? What other work is so noble for 
them to undertake? What other depart- 
ment of education is so essential to the life, 
the dignity, and the safety of the Republic? 
Let the children of the Nation be taught 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 133 

the meaning of Liberty, the priceless value 
of it to them, at what cost our fathers se- 
cured it for us, how they by right use of the 
suffrage can safeguard it from foes within 
and without and continue it in all its purity 
and grandeur to future times; and whatever 
thing of value they shall be ignorant of, 
they will be prepared in mind and heart to 
serve their own best interests and the well 
being of the Nation at large. 

Could Bossism long flourish if the child- 
ren were rightly educated ? Where does 
political baseness root itself if not in the 
mud of civic ignorance ? Have we come to 
a time when water will rise higher than its 
source ? Will ignorant and uninspired 
suffrage vote intelligent, patriotic, incorrupt- 
ible men into office ? And how shall the 
administration of our Government be honest, 
wise, and in the line of the wish and hope 
of those who in the beginning founded it, 
when they who lift into office those who 
administer it are ignorant of the principles 
of free government, without the least civic 



134 HO^ I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

education, totally devoid of patriotic inspi- 
ration, and have no high civic ideals? The 
National Flag waves over the School 
Houses of the Land. That is well Now 
put the Declaration of Independence and 
the Constitution of the United States into 
the minds and hearts of the pupils, that the 
banner above their heads may be interpreted 
to them in all the fullness of its glorious 
significance. 

Americanize your Common School Sys- 
tem, friend. Let the millions being educated 
under it be graduated Americans — not in 
a general but in a specific sense. Let every 
boy and girl in our schools be able to recite 
the Declaration. Let them know the Con- 
stitution, "that most glorious construction 
of human virtue and wisdom," as a great 
Englishman said, by heart. So shall we fit 
them for Citizenship, safeguard the Repub- 
lic from coming perils, show our reverence 
for and gratitude to the founders of it, and 
prove that our love of Liberty and our 
Country, yea, and of the children in it too, 
is both thoughtful and sincere. 



Chapter VII. 
PROVERBS. 

IN WHICH SUNDRY REMARKS ARE MADE BY THE 
TEACHER ON THE PROVERBS OF DIFFERENT 
AGES AND PEOPLES AND THE VALUE OF KNOW- 
ING AND BEING ABLE TO USE THEM, BOTH IN 
PRIVATE CONVERSATION AND PUBLIC ADDRESS, 
TOGETHER WITH RECITATIONS OF NOTED 
PROVERBS BY THE CLASS. 

^^ CHiATHER dear, what is a proverb?" 
I How wise a child is ! Left to 

themselves by how short a cut 
children come to knowledge ! As a bee 
instinctively takes a straight line because 
that is the shortest possible course to his 
hive, SO the child instinctively takes the 
shortest course to knowledge. Greece had 
but one man great enough to keep the 
child-habit of man in seeking knowledge 
by interrogation. And all wise men to-day 

(136) 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 137 

cannot say too much in praise of the *' So- 
cratic method " of learning and teaching. 
Men say, "What a wise and shrewd old 
interrogator he was ! " But do they reflect 
that the Great Grecian Reasoner and Phi- 
losopher was wise only because he held 
through life the child-habit of questioning ? 
And is it not true of the heaven of knowl- 
edge as of that other heaven that if one 
would enter it he must become as a little 
child ? More knowledge can be got at and 
more fool bubbles pricked by a direct, 
clean-cut, pointed question than by any 
other method known to studentship. From 
the beginning I have commended the So- 
cratic method to my pupils. If you wish 
knowledge of a perfume, children, I have 
told them, question it with your nose ; if of 
fruit, question it with your taste ; if of a 
sound, question it with your ears ; if of a 
thorn question it with a touch ; if of a 
bird's plumage, or habits, or habitat, pursue 
it with the interrogation of your eyes. If 
you seek knowledge of your teacher, ques- 



138 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

tion him. This has been the one habit of 
studentship commended to them. This has 
been the one thing insisted on. And how 
much that others have and have not they 
have come to by following this one simple 
rule ! 

" Father dear, what is a Proverb ? " 
And I answered : "A Proverb is the 
wisdom of a man, of a people, of a race, 
condensed into a single sentence." 

And this led to the following arrange- 
ment : That each evening, in the midst of 
nut-cracking, or apple-roasting, or candy- 
pulling, or the playing of games, or what- 
ever form of entertainment the evening time 
brought them, I would give them one 
proverb which they should so thoroughly 
commit to memory that it should never in 
all their lives slip from them. And here is 
the result which the evenings of a single 
winter gave them of the wise, the shrewd, 
the homely, and the pithy sayings of many 
peoples and races : 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 139 

PROVERBS OF THE BIBLE. 
1st 
A soft answer turneth away wrath ; but 
grievous words stir up anger. 

2d 

A good name is more to be desired than 

great riches. 

3d 

A house divided against itself cannot 

stand. 

4th 

Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, 

than a stalled ox with hatred therewith. 

5th 
Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou 
knowest not what a day may bring forth. 

6th 
Cast thy bread upon the waters, for it 
will return to thee after many days. 

yth 
He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth 
unto the Lord, 



140 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



8th 

He that tilleth his land, shall have plenty 
of bread. 

gth 
He who regardeth the clouds, shall not 
reap. 

loth 
If the blind lead the blind, both will fall 
into the ditch. 

nth 
If the salt hath lost its savor, wherewith 
shall it be salted ? 

12th 
Judge not, lest ye be judged. 

13th 
Let another man praise thee, and not by 
thine own mouth. 

14th 
Love not sleep, lest thou fall into poverty. 

15th ^ 
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent 
thee not. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 141 

l6th 
Order is God's first law. 

I'/th 
Pride goeth before destruction, and a 
haughty spirit before a fall. 

i8th 
Remove not the old land-marks, nor enter 
into the fields of the fatherless. 

igth 

The fool hath said in his heart, There is 

no God. 

20th 

The wicked flee when no man pursueth. 

2 1st 
The hearing ear, the seeing eye, the Lord 
hath made even both of them. 

22d 

The leopard cannot change his spots, 
nor the Ethiopian his skin. 

23d 
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy 
strength is but small. 



142 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that tread- 

eth out the corn. 

2^th 

Look not upon the wine when it is red 

within the cup, for at last it biteth like a 

serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVERBS. 

First 
Fire is a good servant, but a bad master. 

Seco7id 
Many hands make light work. 

Third 

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's 

ear. 

Fourth 

Necessity is the mother of invention. 

Fifth 
Still waters run deep. 

Sixth 
Little people should be seen, and not 
heard. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 143 

Seventh 
A stitch in time saves nine. 

Eighth 

Why lock the door after the horse is 

stolen ? 

Ninth 

Why cry over spilt milk ? 

Teyith 
The deer that goes to the licks too often 
meets the hunter at last. 

Eleventh 
Haste makes waste. 

Twelfth 

He that stumbleth at the same stone twice 

is a fool. 

Thirteenth 

The rolling stone gathers no moss. 

Fourteenth 
A pint is a pound the world round. 

Fifteenth 
Birds of a feather flock together. 



144 HOW ^ EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Sixteenth 

An ounce of prevention is better than a 

pound of cure. 

Seventeenth 

You can't teach an old dog new tricks. 

Eighteenth 
An old dog loves his kennel. 

Nineteenth 
Chickens come home to roost. 

Twentieth 

If you want your business done, go ; if 

not, send. 

Twenty-first 

Speak well of the bridge that carries you 

safely over. 

Twenty-second 

Riches take wings and fly away. 

Twenty-third 
Obey orders if you ruin your masters. 

Twen ty-fourth 
Write no man's epitaph until he is dead. 

Twenty-fifth 
A singed cat fears the fire. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 145 

Twenty-sixth 
Penny wise and pound foolish. 

Twenty-seventh 
A penny saved is two earned. 

Twen ty-eigh th 

You can't put an old head on young 

shoulders. 

Twenty-ninth 

Never look a gift horse in the mouth. 

Thirtieth 
Nearer the bone the sweeter the meat. 

Thirty -first 
Don't count your chickens till they are 
hatched. 

Th irty-second 

Wisdom sits at the root of a gray hair. 

Thirty-third 

There's as good fish in the sea as ever 

were caught. 

Thirty-fourth 

Honesty is the best policy. 



146 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Thirty-fifth 
In union there is strength. 

Thirty-sixth 
Look before you leap. 

Thirty-seventh 
The race is not to the swift, nor the bat- 
tle to the strong. 

Thirty -eigh th 
It's always darkest just before dawn. 

Thirty-ninth 
The darkest clouds have a silver lining. 

Fortieth 
One swallow doesn't make a summer. 

Forty-first 
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, 
again. 

Forty-second 
There are two sides to every question. 

Forty-third 
There is many a slip between the cup 
and the lip. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 147 

Fo7^ty-fourth 
He whom the gods would destroy they 
first make mad. 

Forty-fifth 
The mills of the gods grind slow, but 
they grind exceeding fine. 

Forty-sixth 
Never shout till you are out of the woods. 

Forty-seventh 
Every tub should stand on its own bottom. 

Forty -eighth 

Blessings brighten as they take their 

fliorht. 

Forty-ninth 

Make hay when the sun shines. 

Fiftieth 
Riorht makes mic^ht. 

Fifty-first 
One with God is a majority. 

Fifty-second 
Seize him is a good dog, but hold fast is 
a better. 



148 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Fifty-third 
All is not gold that glitters. 

Fifty-fourth 
Fine feathers don't make a lady. 

Fifty-fifth 
A new broom sweeps clean. 

Fifty-sixth 
Don't cross a bridge until you come to it. 

Fifty-seventh 
Early to bed and early to rise makes men 
healthy, wealthy, and wise. 

Fifty-eighth 
He who thinks purely feels like God. 



Chapter VIII. 

THE VALUE OF A GOOD 
VOCABULARY. 

IN WHICH IS SET FORTH THE VALUE OF WORDS 
AS THE SYMBOL OF THOUGHT, AND WHY THE 
POSSESSION OF AN ADEQUATE VOCABULARY 
SHOULD BE THE FIRST OBJECT OF INSTRUC- 
TION. 

IT has always seemed to me that words, 
which are the symbols of human 
thought, and without a usable knowl- 
edge of which no person can, save with the 
utmost difficulty, either express his own 
ideas or receive instruction rapidly, should 
be given the foremost rank in any system 
devised for the instruction of children. 
The study of the English language is pri- 
marily the study of the words that com- 
pose it. To know how to spell, pronounce, 
define, and use words properly is, as I 

(149) 



150 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



conceive, the first thing that a child should 
be taught. Mastery of word knowledge is 
the key that opens the door of all knowl- 
edge and qualifies them to make rapid and 
easy progress in all their studies. With 
children thus equipped for mental acqui- 
sition teaching is a delight, and study an 
entertainment and not a task. At eight a 
healthy and clever girl has come to a period 
of development when receptiveness of 
memory is always remarkable and in many 
cases phenomenal. She is then a natural 
linguist. Words, phrases, idiomatic expres- 
sions, and entire sentences are received as a 
white page receives the tracing of the pen. 
Later she comes to the emotional period, 
later yet to the perceptive and reasoning 
stage, and last of all to the reflective. But 
in the beginning of her progressive move- 
ment as a mental force she gives the high- 
est expression of Mnemonics. At no future 
period of her development as an intelligent 
being will memory be so receptive or 
tenacious. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



151 



I have for nearly forty years devoted 
myself to the study of the words and word 
formation of the English language as 
spoken and written to and for the American 
people. Save as the knowledge of them 
would enable me to better understand and 
use with greater simplicity and precision 
my native tongue I have devoted no time 
to other languages. I regard the English 
language, reinforced as it has been so 
abundantly by the freer life and thought of 
our own country, as the most facile and 
noblest medium of expressing human 
thought and feeling ever used on earth. 
Not yet fully formed, by no means satis- 
factory to the Author, Orator, and Poet ; 
inadequate as it is to give perfect expres- 
sion to the highest thinking ; too strongly 
affected by our own rapid and gross mate- 
rialistic development to serve our noblest 
spiritual thinkers, it nevertheless commands 
the admiration and pride of those who best 
know its resources and how to use it most 
efficiently. For its virile forcefulness, for 



152 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

pith and substance, for monosyllabic full- 
ness, for the gloss and finish of its sentences 
when rightly formed, for its wealth of 
emotional expression and the ease with 
which it rises, as in Milton's poetry and 
Webster's prose, to the loftiest heights of 
poetic and prose expression, no tribute in 
its praise can well be extravagant. He 
who knows how to write and speak the 
English language in purity, with correctness 
and finished forcefulness is, and must be 
admitted to be, a scholar of highest rank. 
And he who cannot do this, no matter to 
what other knowledge he has come, lacks 
the cultivation of finished scholarship. 

That my children may master this most 
noble medium of human expression and 
influence is the chiefest object of my teach- 
ing. Whatever else they may learn I wish 
them above all else to learn how to read, 
write, and speak the language of their 
native land not only correctly but with 
freedom and elegance. For I hold that, 
scholarly in this, they will be scholarly in 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 153 

all. The study of noble thought expressed 
in noble speech gives to the mind discipline 
and to the soul an elevation that can come 
to one from no other source. 

These views I taught my daughters — 
the two that were old enough to receive 
them intelligently — and they entered 
eagerly upon the course of study which 
when completed would make them the pos- 
sessors of a vocabulary far fuller than is 
common, even in the case of scholarly adults. 
And now, after three years and a half 
of daily recitation, their copy lists show over 
1 7,000 words, each and every one of which 
they can spell and pronounce rightly, define 
with fullness and precision, and use correctly 
in a sentence. And this result has been 
reached without the least pressure on my 
part or burden to them. There have been 
no '* prizes " or " show performances " 
before the public ; no rivalry as to which 
should have the better " record," or any- 
thing whatever calculated to stimulate them 
to special effort. The system adopted was 



154 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

one of simple accumulation steadily per- 
sisted in — that and nothing more. 

And the system is this, and was of their 
own suggestion, to wit : that each day of 
the week they would take ten words of my 
selection, memorize them carefully, write 
them down, — which would give them practice 
in penmanship, — commit the definition 
thoroughly to heart, and put each word 
into a sentence when able, looking to me 
for help when they could not do it. That 
was the plan. 

Ten words a day! It was nothing — it 
was play to them ! At the end of the first 
year they begged that I let them double 
the number. " Why, father, it does not 
take half an hour for us to get our lesson ! " 
But I said, " No, we will keep it just as it 
is, ten words per day. Your progress is 
fast enough." So it remained for two 
years. But then I yielded and twenty 
words became the lesson. 

But what a feast these pupils of mine 
have had ! 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 155 

I wish it to be distinctly understood that 
I am not teaching a child-vocabulary to my 
children, but the vocabulary of the English 
language, far more abundant and complete 
than I had when I was graduated from 
Yale or had ten years after I was grad- 
uated : a vocabulary that will at the con- 
clusion of their studies number at least 
20,000 words ; words that are usable, words 
that are needed to express the thought, ideas, 
and feeling of educated people. And I am 
teaching this noble vocabulary to them in 
such a way that they will know how to 
spell, pronounce, define, and use each word 
accurately and without mental effort, and 
under a method of study which does not 
put the least strain upon them. The basal 
idea of my method is small but contimwus 
accuinulatio7i of knowledge ; ten words a 
day, bzct no day omitted. That's the secret 
of the success they have made of it, and 
which every fairly clever and healthy child 
can make. 

The following section of the vocabulary 



156 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

is transcribed from their " Copy Lists," 
which they have made first in pencil, then 
with the pen, and last with a typewriter, 
which they mastered with great ease, and 
the use of which has been a great help to 
them. 

VOCABULARY. 

September 3, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLI 



Dab 


Da-guerre-o 


Dab-ble 


Dah-lia 


Dab-ler 


Dai-ry 


Daf-fo-dil 


Da-is 


Dag-ger 


Dai-ly 


September 4, 1897 




EXERCISE 




CCLII 


Dais-y 


Dam-ask 


Dale 


Da-mas-cus 


Dal-li-ance 


Dame 


Dal-ly 


Damn 


Dam-age 


Dam-na-ble 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 157 

September 5, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLIII 

Dam-na-tion Dam-son 

Dam-sel Dance 

Damp Dan-de-lion 

Damp-er Dan-der 

Damp-en Dand-ruff 





September 6, 1897 






EXERCISE 






CCLIV 


Dan-die 




Dan-gle 


Dan-dy 




Dan-ish 


Dane 




Dank 


Dan-ger 




Dank-ish 


Dan-ger- 


ous 


Dap-per 



158 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

September 7, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLV 

Dap-ple Dark-ness 

Dare-dev-il Dark-some 

Dar-ing Dark-y 

Dark Dash-board 

Dark-en Das-tard 



S] 


EPTEMBER 


8, 1897 




EXERCISE 




CCLVI 


Date 




Daw-dler 


Date-less 




Dawn 


Daunt 




Day-light 


Dav-it 




Dead 


Daw-die 




Daze 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



159 





September 


9, 1897 






EXERCISE 






CCLVII 


Daz-zle 






Deal 


Dea-con 






Deal-er 


Dead-ly 






Dear-ly 


Deaf 






Dear-bought 


Deaf-mute 




Dearth 



Death-ly 

Death-less 

Death-watch 

De-base 

De-bate 



September 10, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLVIII 

De-bat-er 

De-bauch 

Deb-au-chee 

Deb-o-nair 

De-bil-i-ty 



l6o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

September ii, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLIX 

Debt-or Dec-ade 

Debt De-hi-tante 

De-bris De-camp 

De-but De-cay 

De-bu-tant De-ceit 



September 12, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLX 

De-ceive De-cep-tive 

De-ceiv-er De-cern 

De-cen-cy De-cide 

De-cent De-cid-u-ous 

De-cep-tion Dec-i-mal 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. i6l 

September 13, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXI 

Dec-i-mate De-claim 

De-ci-pher Dec-la-ma-tion 

De-cis-ion De-clare 

De-ci-sive De-clen-sion 

Deck Dec-li-na-tion 



September 14, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXII 

De-cline De-com-po-si-tion 

De-cliv-i-ty Dec-o-rate 

De-coct Dec-o-ra-tive 

De-col-or Dec o-ra-tor 

De-com-pose Dec o ra-tion 



l62 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



September 15, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXIII 



Dec-o-rous 

De-co-rum 

De-coy 

De-crease 

De-cree 



De-crep-it 

De-cry 

Ded-i-cate 

Ded-i-ca-tion 

De-duce 



September 16, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXIV 



De-du-ci-ble 

De-duc-tion 

Deed 

Deem 

Deep 



Deep-en 
Deer 

Deer-stalk-er 

De-face 

De-fal-ca-tion 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 163 

September 17, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXV 

Def-a-ma-tion De-fect-ive 

De-fame De-fence 

De-fault . De-fend 

De-fault-er De-fend-er 

De-feat De-fence-less 



September 18, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXVI 

De-fen-sive De-form 

De-fer De-form-i-ty 

Def-er-en-tial De-fraud 

De-fi-cient Deft 

De-file De-funct 



l64 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

September 19, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXVII 

De-fy De-gree 

De-gen-er-ate De-i-fy 

De-gen-er-a-tion De-ist 

De-gen-er-a-cy De-ism 

De-grade Deign 



September 20, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXVIII 

De-i-ty De-lib-er-ate 

De-ject De-lib-er-ate-ly 

De-jec-tion De-lib-er-a-tion 

De-lay Del-i-ca-cy 

Del-e-gate De-lin-e-ate 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 165 

September 21, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXIX 

De-lin-quent De-liv-er-ance 

De-lln-quen-cy Dell 

De-llr-i-ous Del-ta 

De-lir-i-um De-lude 

De-liv-er Del-uge 



September 22, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXX 

De-lu-sion De-mean 

De-lu-sive De-mean-or 

Delve De-mer-it 

Dem-a-gogue Dem-i-john 

De-mand De-mar-ka-tion 



l66 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

September 23, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXI 

De-moc-ra-cy De-mo-ni-ac 

Dem-o-crat Dem-on-strate 

Dem-oi-selle De-mor-al-ize 

De-mon Dem-on-stra-tion 

De-mol-ish De-mon-stra-tive 



September 24, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXII 

De-mur De-nom-i-na-tion 

De-mure De-nom-i-na-tor 

De-ny De-note 

De-ni-al De-nounce-ment 

Den-i-zen De-nounce 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 167 

September 25, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXIII 

Dense Den-tist-ry 

Den-si-ty De-nude 

Dent De-o-dor-ize 

Den-tal De-o-dor-iz-er 

Den-tist De-part 



September 26, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXIV 

De-part-ment De-pict 

De-part-ure De-plete 

De-pend De-ple-tion 

De-pend-ence De-plore 

De-pend-ency De-plor-able 



l68 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

September 27, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXV 

De-ploy De-pose 

De-pop-u-late De-pos-it 

De-pop-u-la-tion De-pot 

De-port De-prave 

De-port-ment De-prav-i-ty 



September 28, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXVI 

Dep-re-cate De-press-ive 

De-pre-ci-ate De-prive 

De-pre-ci-a-tion Dep-ri-va-tion 

De-press Depth 

De-press-ing De-range 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 169 

September 29, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXVII 

De-rail De-rid-ing-ly 

De-rang-e-ment De-ris-ion 

Der-e-lict De-rive 

De-ride Der-i-va-tion 

De-rid-ing De-riv-a-tive 



September 30, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXVIII 

Der-ni-er- Res-sort De-scen-sion 

Der-rick De-scent 

De-scend De-scribe 

De-scend-ant De-scriptive 

De-scend-ing De-scrip-tion 



170 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

October i, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXIX 

Des-cry De-sert-er 

Des-e-crate De-ser-tion 

Des-e-cra-tion De-serve 

De-sert Des-ha-bille 

Des-ert Des-ic-cate 



October 2, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXX 

De-sign De-sir-ous 

Des-ig-nate De-sist 

De-sign-er Des-o-late 

De-sire Des-o-la-tion 

De-sir-a-ble De-spair 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 171 

October 3, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXXI 

Des-patch De-spise 

Des-per-a-do De-spite 

Des-per-ate De-spoil 

Des-per-a-tion De-spond 

Des-pi-ca-ble De-spond-en-cy 



/ October 4, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXXII 

Des-pot Des-ti-tute 

Des-pot-ism Des-ti-tu-tion 

Des-sert De-stroy 

Des-tem-per De-struc-ti-ble 

Des-tine De-struc-tion 



172 how i educate my daughters. 

October 5, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXXIII 

De-struc-tive De-tail 

Des-ue-tude De-tain 

De-sul-to-ry De-tect 

De-tach De-tect-ive 

De-tach-ment De-tec-tion 



October 6, 1897 
EXERCISE 
CCLXXXIV 

De-ten-tion De-ter-mi-na-tlon 

De-ter De-test 

De-te-ri-o-rate De-test-a-ble 

De-te-ri-o-ra-tion De-tes-ta-tion 

De-ter-mine De-throne 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 173 

October 7, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXXV 

De-throne-ment Det-ri-ment-al 

Det-o-nate De-tract-ing-ly 

De-tract De-tri-tion 

De-trac-tion Deuce 

Det-ri-ment Dew 



October 8, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXXVI 

Deu-ter-on-o-my De-vest 

Dev-as-tate De-vi-ate 

Dev-as-ta-tion De-vi-a-tion 

De-vel-op De-vice 

De-vel-op-ment Dev-il 



174 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

October 9, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXXVII 

De-vi-ous De-vo-tion-al 

De-vise Dev-o-tee 

De-void De-vo-tion 

De-volve De-vour 

De-vote De-vout 



October id, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXXVIII 

De-voir Dex-ter-i-ty 

Dew-drop Dex-ter-ous 

Dew-i-ness Di-a-bol-ic-al 

Dew-lap Di-ab-o-lism 

Dew-y Di-a-dem 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

October ii, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXXXIX 

Di-ag-nose Dic-tate 

Di-a-tribe Dic-ta-tor 

Dib-ble Dic-ta-tion 

Dick-er Dic-ta-to-ri-al 

Dick-ens Dic-tion 



175 



October 12, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXL 

Dic-tion-a-ry Di-et 

Dic-tum Di-et-ic 

Di-do Dif-fer 

Di-duc-tion Dif-fer-ence 

Die Dif-fer-ent 



176 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

October 13, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXLI 

Dif-fi-cult Dif-fu-sion 

Dif-fi-cul-ty DIf-fu-sive 

Dif-fi-dence Dig 

Dif-fi-dent Di-gest 

Dif-fuse Di-ges-tion 



October 14, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXLII 

DIg-ging Di-gres-sion 

Dig-it Dike 

Dig-ni-fy Di-lap-i-date 

Dig-ni-ta-ry Di-lap-i-da-tion 

Dig-ni-ty Di-gress 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 177 

October 15, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXLIII 

Di-late Di-lu-tion 

Dil-a-to-ry Dime 

Di-lem-ma Di-men-sion 

Dil-i-gent Di-min-ish 

Di-lute Di-min-u-tive 





0( 


::tober 


16, 1897 






EXERCISE 






CCLXLIV 


Dim-i-ty 






Dine 


Dim-ly 






Ding 


Dim-ness 






Ding-dong 


Dim-pie 






Din-gy 


Din 






Din-ner 



1/8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

October 17, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXLV 

Dint Di-plo-ma-cy 

Di-o-cese Di-plo-ma-tism 

Diph-the-ri-a Dip-per 

Diph-thong Dire 

Di-plo-ma Di-plo-ma-tist 



October 


18, 1897 




EXERCISE 




CCLXLVI 


Di-rect 




Di-rect-o-ry 


Di-rec-tion 




Dire-ful 


Di-rect-ly 




Dirge 


Di-rec-tor 




Dirk 


Di-rec-to-rate 




Dirt 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 179 

October 19, 1897 
EXERCISE 
CCLXLVII 

Dir-ty Dis-ad-van-tage 

Dir-ti-ness Dis-ad-van-ta-geous 

Dis-a-ble Dis-ad-van-ta-geous-ly 

Dis-a-bil-i-ty Dis-af-fect 

Dis-a-buse Dis-af-fec-tion 



October 20, 1897 
EXERCISE 
CCLXLVIII 

Dis-a-gree Dis-ap-pear 

Dis-a-gree-a-ble-ness DIs-ap-pear-ance 

Dis-a-gree-a-ble Dis-ap-point 

Dis-a-gree-ment Dis-ap-point-ment 

Dis-al-low Dis-ap-pro-ba-tion 



l8o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



October 21, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCLXLIX 



Dis-ap-prove 

Dis-arm 

Dis-ar-range 

Dis-as-ter 

Dis-as-trous 



Dis-ar-ray 

Dis-a-vow 

Dis-band 

Dis-a-vow-al 

Dis-bar 



October 22, 1897 

EXERCISE 

CCC 



Dis-bark 

Dis-be-lief 

Dis-be-lieve 

Dis-burse 

Dis-burse-ment 



Disc 

Dis-cern 

Dis-card 

Dis-cern-i-ble 

Dis-cern~ment 



Chapter IX. 

THE CIVIC EDUCATION OF 
CHILDREN. 

IN WHICH IS SET FORTH THE SUPERIORITY OF 
THE FEMALE IN THE NATURAL AND SPIR- 
ITUAL WORLD AND THE PROMINENCE GIVEN 
HER IN AMERICAN LIFE AND CIVILIZATION, 
WHEREBY IT IS MADE TO APPEAR THAT 
DAUGHTERS OF THE REPUBLIC, EQUALLY 
WITH SONS, SHOULD HAVE KNOWLEDGE 
OF THE FORM OF OUR GOVERNMENT AND 
THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN LIBERTY FOR 
WHICH IT STANDS. 

WHENEVER a nation passes from 
the barbarous to the civilized state 
it passes under woman's control. 
Wherever knowledge, sentiment, literature, 
chivalry and piety are the characteristic 
forces, there woman shapes the national 
course and the career of men. The fem- 
inine spirit is finer, purer, more finesseful, 

(i8i) 



l82 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

puissant, and truer to itself than the mascu- 
line. Indeed, through the whole animal 
kingdom the superiority of the female is, by 
thoughtful students and close observers, 
generally conceded. In ability to go with- 
out food and drink, in patience and endur- 
ance of pain, in courage and hopefulness 
under perilous and depressing conditions, in 
persistence and quickness of resource, the 
female excels the male. And as a nation 
becomes more and more civilized, as it be- 
comes more and more receptive of the influ- 
ences that refine, ennoble, and spiritualize, 
by the same degree does woman's power to 
shape, direct, to make or mar, become more 
potent and decisive. 

Because of this law woman in our civiliza- 
tion holds, as a directing and inspiring 
force, the foremost rank. In nothing is 
American development more unique and 
impressive than the high placement it gives 
to woman and the opportunity it affords 
feminine influence. In such a nation the 
emancipation of woman from old time con- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 183 

ditions of masculine ignorance and domina- 
tion was inevitable. Her hour of growth 
and bloom had come, and she became floral, 
not because of any wish or plan of hers, but 
because the conditions were favorable to her 
full development and the finest expression 
of her finest self. Humanity had not come 
to that point at which it was ready to reject 
the Material and elect the Spiritual, but it 
had reached a stage in its development in 
which it could not prevent the spiritual 
from challenging the supremacy of the 
material. The "woman's movement" so 
called, was, therefore, a normal and natural 
one ; the inevitable sequence from causes 
and conditions of thought and thought 
growth existent and operant in our personal 
and natural life. 

And what a movement it has been, and 
what has it not already accomplished ! It 
has introduced such an order of things as 
no human prescience could have foreseen. 
Nothing like to it has ever before existed 
in the world, at least within the circle of 



l84 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

historic knowledge. The changes in our 
social, political, economic, and religious life 
it has caused are simply astounding. The 
American woman, the American girl, is 
everywhere. She pushed the male peda- 
gogue from his chair and holds it as her 
own. That was the beginning — the enter- 
ing wedge. First an humble teacher, then 
the principal of an Academy, then Presi- 
dent of a college. To-day a student, 
to-morrow a lawyer, a physician, a preacher. 
This year a juror, next year a judge. A 
voter on Monday, on Tuesday the mayor 
of a city, or member of a legislature ; by 
Wednesday elected to the United States 
Senate, and on Thursday to the Chief 
Magistracy of the nation. " What, a woman 
President ? " Why not ? Who rules over 
the English, of whose blood we are, and 
who is the sovereign head of the vast Brit- 
ish Empire, to equal the census of which 
the Republic must wait at least two hundred 
years ? Who ruled Napoleon when he ruled 
Europe ? Whose genius and learning were 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 185 

SO great that Pericles, by whose eloquence 
and wisdom Greece got her highest place- 
ment in history, said, speaking in her defense 
to the Grecian Senate, " that the wisdom 
and patriotism with which he had defended 
and ennobled Greece, and even the elo- 
quence of his speeches, were due to her." 
Was it not Aspasia ? Why should not the 
American people elect an American woman 
to be their President, if they choose ? It 
would take an infinity of chances to find a 
woman that would make a worse President 
than some of the men who have been 
elected were ! 

But however much you who read may 
disagree with me touching any point of 
detail, we certainly can stand together in 
this — that female influence in America, 
both in state and national connection, is 
already and beyond question destined to be 
so great in the future that any system of 
education that will make them intelligent 
touching the great and noble principles on 
which the nation is based, and make them 



l86 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

patriotic in their impulses and intelligent 
lovers of Liberty, is one worthy of all 
approval. And yet, so far as I can ascer- 
tain, there is not a common schoolhouse in 
the United States where the Declaration of 
Independence is ever read or the Constitu- 
tion even casually studied or expounded. 
The flag flies above the roof, and that is 
well. But until the principles of liberty 
and the manner in which they are realized 
in blessing to the people are taught to the 
pupils, that flagstaff and flag mean no more 
than a steeple surmounted by a golden cross, 
standing above a church in which no prayer 
is ever made, no sermon preached and no 
Bible read. 

Holding such views it follows that the 
system under which I am educating my 
daughters includes their education in civic 
affairs. And this education is to be thor- 
ough ; much more so than is that given 
even to boys in our schools and colleges. 
And to this end I have set myself to teach 
them the significance of Liberty to them in 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 187 

all their future life, and its preciousness to 
them and those who, should they ever 
become mothers, shall be born to them in 
coming years. And this theme has been 
the subject of many conversations, not only 
in the house but when wandering a-field ; 
for we are vagabonds, — the Greeks would 
have called us Peripatetics, — and our class- 
room is on legs, and goes very much like 
the wind, whither it listeth, and the mosses 
make a better seat for those who love and 
seek knowledge than benches and chairs, 
especially if they know who made the 
mosses, the names of them, how they grow 
and what they were made for. Nor, young 
as they are, have they had the least difficulty 
to follow me intelligently in any historic 
review, for before they are twelve they 
have mastered a vocabulary of seventeen 
thousand words, both as to the spelling and 
definition of each word and the use of it in 
a well-constructed sentence ; which is a 
larger vocabulary than I had at twenty-five, 
or many teachers in our schools and pro- 



l88 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

fessors in our colleges have to-day ; and 
there is no word or term, outside of profes- 
sional and technical ones, that I need to use 
in teaching them that they have not in 
memory and at their tongue's end. And 
this command of their country's language 
has been acquired by no laborious process 
or by dint of severe application, but by the 
easy method of steady accumulation day by 
day, as I have explained elsewhere, and is 
of the greatest advantage to them, for it 
enables them to learn more easily and many 
things beyond the ordinary curriculum of 
their age. By reason of this I have been 
able to teach them the origin and signifi- 
cance of Liberty ; its meaning to the indi- 
vidual and the divine right of its possession 
by every living soul, and how it is necessa- 
rily modified in its scope when the individ- 
ual becomes associated with others; — in 
harmony with what forms of law and usage 
in society and government it is preserved 
and assisted to become the greatest of bless- 
ings to the one and the all, and why and in 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 189 

what manner it makes a government dear 
and precious to its citizens, to such a degree 
that in support of it they should, as need is, 
give freely of their property, and in its de- 
fense, when unjustly assaulted and imperiled, 
even lay down their lives. 



Chapter X. 

THE CIVIC AND POLITICAL ED- 
UCATION OF CHILDREN. 

IN THIS CHAPTER IS PRINTED THE IMMORTAL 
DOCUMENT KNOWN OVER ALL THE WORLD AS 
THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPEN- 
DENCE, AND WHICH IS OF SUCH VALUE TO 
MANKIND AS TO RANK WITH THE SERMON 
ON THE MOUNT, AND YET I AM TOLD THAT 
IT IS NOT READ IN OUR SCHOOLS AND THAT 
AMERICAN CHILDREN ARE GRADUATED WITH- 
OUT THE LEAST KNOWLEDGE OF IT, OR ITS 
RELATION TO THEM AND THEIR COUNTRY. 

THE line of instruction, as suggested in 
the preceding chapter, which they 
followed with the keenest zest, natur- 
ally led to the birth of our nationality, and 
how America came to be a nation by itself, 
and out of what conception of Liberty and 
its practical relations to man our govern- 
ment Sprang into being. And this was to 

(190) 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 191 

them as a fairy tale, and they could not tire 
of the telling of it. And that they might 
have under their feet a sure foundation of 
whatever superstructure of civic knowledge 
the years might upbuild for them, they com- 
mitted beyond the possibility of forgetting 
that immortal statement of human rights 
known to us as the 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
And that all parents and teachers may see 
how little of a task it was for them to do, 
what so few of our American citizenship, I 
fancy, have done, I herewith give their reci- 
tations in order. 

The Declaration of Independence as 
memorized and recited in sections so as to 
be in no sense burdensome to them. 

RECITATION I. 
When, in the course of human events, it 
becomes necessary for one people to dis- 
solve the political bands which have con- 
nected them with another, and to assume, 
among the powers of the earth, the separate 



192 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



and equal station, to which the laws of 
nature and nature's God entitle them, a 
decent respect to the opinions of mankind 
requires that they should declare the causes 
which impel them to the separation. 

RECITATION II. 
We hold these truths to be self-evident, 
that all men are created equal ; that they 
are endowed by their Creator with certain 
unalienable rights ; that among these are 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; 
that, to secure these rights, governments 
are instituted among men, deriving their 
just powers from the consent of the gov- 
erned ; that, whenever any form of govern- 
ment becomes destructive of these ends, it 
is the right of the people to alter or to abol- 
ish it, and to institute a new government, 
laying its foundation on such principles, and 
organizing its powers in such form, as to 
them shall seem most likely to effect their 
safety and happiness. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 193 

RECITATION III. 
Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that gov- 
ernments long established should not be 
changed for light and transient causes ; and 
accordingly, all experience hath shown that 
mankind are more disposed to suffer, while 
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves, 
by abolishing the forms to which they are 

accustomed. 

RECITATION IV. 

But when a long train of abuses and 
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
object, evinces a design to reduce them 
under absolute despotism, it is their right, 
it is their duty, to throw off such govern- 
ment, and to provide new guards for their 
future security. 

RECITATION V. 
Such has been the patient sufferance of 
these colonies ; and such is now the neces- 
sity which constrains them to alter their 
former systems of government. The his- 
tory of the present king of Great Britain is 
13 



194 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

a history of repeated injuries and usurpa- 
tions, all having in direct object the estab- 
lishment of an absolute tyranny over these 
States. To prove this, let facts be sub- 
mitted to a candid world. 

RECITATION VI. 

He has refused his assent to laws the 
most wholesome and necessary for the pub- 
lic good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass 
laws of immediate and pressing importance, 
unless suspended in their operation till his 
assent should be obtained ; and, when so 
suspended, he has utterly neglected to 
attend to them. 

RECITATION VII. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the 
accommodation of large districts of people, 
unless these people would relinquish the 
right of representation in the legislature — 
a right inestimable to them, and formidable 
to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



195 



at places unusual, uncomfortable, and dis- 
tant from the depository of their public 
records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing 
them into compliance with his measures. 

RECITATION VIII. 

He has dissolved representative houses 
repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firm- 
ness, his invasions on the rights of the peo- 
ple. 

He has refused, for a long time after such 
dissolutions, to cause others to be elected ; 
whereby the legislative powers, incapable of 
annihilation, have returned to the people at 
large, for their exercise ; the state remain- 
ing, in the mean time, exposed to all the 
dangers of invasion from without, and con- 
vulsions within. 

RECITATION IX. 
He has endeavored to prevent the popu- 
lation of these States ; for that purpose, 
obstructing the laws for naturalization of 
foreigners ; refusing to pass others to en- 



196 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

courage their migration hither, and raising 
the conditions of new appropriations of 
lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of 
justice, by refusing his assent to laws for 
establishing judiciary powers. 

RECITATION X. 

He has made judges dependent on his 
will alone, for the tenure of their ofifices, 
and the amount and payment of their 
salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, 
and sent hither swarms of officers to harass 
our people, and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us in times of peace, 
standing armies, without the consent of our 
legislatures. 

RECITATION XL 

He has affected to render the military 
independent of, and superior to, the civil 
power. 

He has combined with others to subject 
us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitu- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 197 

tion, and unacknowledged by our laws ; 
giving his assent to their acts of pretended 
legislation. 

RECITATION XII. 

For quartering large bodies of armed 
troops among us. 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, 
from punishment for any murders which they 
should commit on the inhabitants of these 
States. 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of 
the world. 

For imposing taxes on us without our 
consent. 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the 
benefits of trial by jury. 

For transporting us beyond seas to be 
tried for pretended offences. 

RECITATION XIII. 
For abolishing the free system of English 
laws in a neighboring province, establishing 
therein an arbitrary government, and en- 
larging its boundaries, so as to render it, at 



198 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

once, an example and fit instrument for 
introducing the same absolute rule into 
these colonies : 

For taking away our charters, abolishing 
our most valuable laws, and altering, funda- 
mentally, the powers of our governments : 

RECITATION XIV. 

For suspending our own legislatures, and 
declaring themselves invested with power 
to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by 
declaring us out of his protection, and 
waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our 
coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the 
lives of our people. 

RECITATION XV. 
He is, at this time, transporting large 
armies of foreign mercenaries to complete 
the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, 
already begun, with circumstances of 
cruelty and perfidy, scarcely paralleled in 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 199 

the most barbarous ages, and totally un- 
worthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, 
taken captive on the high seas, to bear 
arms against their country, to become the 
executioners of their friends and brethren, 
or to fall themselves by their hands. 

RECITATION XVI. 

He has excited domestic insurrections 
amongst us, and has endeavored to bring 
on the inhabitants of our frontiers the 
merciless Indian savages, whose known 
rule of warfare is an undistinguished de- 
struction of all ages, sexes, and condi- 
tions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we 
have petitioned for redress, in the most 
humble terms : our repeated petitions have 
been answered only by repeated injury. A 
prince, whose character is thus marked by 
every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit 
to be the ruler of a free people. 



200 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

RECITATION XVII. 
Nor have we been wanting in attention 
to our British brethren. We have warned 
them, from time to time, of attempts, by 
their legislature, to extend an unwarrantable 
jurisdiction over us. We have reminded 
them of the circumstances of our emigra- 
tion and settlement here. We have ap- 
pealed to their native justice and magna- 
nimity, and we have conjured them, by the 
ties of our common kindred, to disavow 
these usurpations, which would inevitably 
interrupt our connections and correspond- 
ence. They, too, have been deaf to the 
voice of justice, and of consanguinity. We 
must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, 
which denounces our separation, and hold 
them, as we hold the rest of mankind, 
enemies in war, in peace friends. 

RECITATION XVIII. 
We, therefore, the representatives of the 
United States of America, in General Con- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 201 

gress assembled, appealing to the Supreme 
Judge of the world for the rectitude of our 
intentions, do, in the name and by the 
authority of the good people of these 
colonies, solemnly publish and declare that 
these United Colonies are, and of riorht 
ought to be. Free and Indepe^ident States ; 

RECITATION XIX. 
That they are absolved from all allegi- 
ance to the British crown, and that all 
political connection between them and the 
state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, 
totally dissolved ; and that, as free a7id 
independent States, they have full power to 
levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, 
establish commerce, and to do all other acts 
and things which independent States may 
of right do. And for the support of this 
declaration, with a firm reliance on the pro- 
tection of Divine Provide?ice, we mutually 
pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, 
and our sacred honor. 



202 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

The foregoing declaration was, by order 
of Congress, engrossed and signed by the 
following members : 

John Hancock. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. ^ 

Josiah Bartlett, Matthew Thornton. 

William Whipple, 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine, 

John Adams, Elbridge Gerry. 

RHODE ISLAND, ETC. 

Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Roger Sherman, William Williams, 

Samuel Huntington, Oliver Wolcott. 

NEW YORK. 

William Floyd, Francis Lewis, 

Philip Livingston, Lewis Morris. 

NEW JERSEY. 

Richard Stockton, John Hart, 
John Witherspoon, Abraham Clark. 
Francis Hopkinson, 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 203 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

Robert Morris, James Smith, 

Benjamin Rush, George Taylor, 

Benjamin FrankHn, James Wilson, 

John Morton, George Ross. 
George Clymer, 

DELAWARE. 

Caesar Rodney, Thomas M'Kean. 

George Read, 

MARYLAND. 

Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, 

William Paca, Charles Carroll 

of Carrollton. 

VIRGINIA. 

George Wythe, Thomas Nelson, Jr., 

Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
Thomas Jefferson, Carter Braxton. 
Benjamin Harrison, 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

William Hooper, John Penn. 

Joseph Hewes, 



204 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Edward Rutledge, Thomas Lynch, Jr., 
Thos. Heyward, Jr., Arthur Middleton. 

GEORGIA. 

Button Gwinnett, George Walton. 
Lyman Hall, 

These recitations were accompanied by 
conversational Lectures, — if you please to 
call them so — or familiar talks on English 
History cotemporaneous with the Declara- 
tion ; on the political state and condition of 
popular feeling in France ; on our Colonial 
development and the influence which had 
prepared the Fathers of the Republic for 
such a noble conception and declaration of 
human rights, and whatever else that might 
make them more intelligent as to the mean- 
ing and scope of the text : and as I have 
said, much of this instruction in political 
history was given when rambling out of 
doors, under trees and fragrant bushes, or 
seated under the lea of a big mossy rock or 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 205 

old Stone wall when the wind blew stormily 
from the north, and in such a way and at 
such times that the idea of " studying " was 
never suggested. It was all done in the 
line of entertainment, a pleasant episode of 
the ramble — the floral expression of that 
conviction in me, that children have minds 
as well as legs, and naturally love to learn 
as they do to run. And to whom is liberty 
so sweet as to children, or in what environ- 
ment can it be so well inculcated and ex- 
plained as in the fields and woods, where all 
is free to act its nature out, or by the shore 
of seas whose tides know no bondage and 
whose waves no man can bind ? 



Chapter XI. 
THE STUDY OF MATHEMATICS. 

IN THIS CHAPTER IT WILL BE DEMONSTRATED 
THAT IN THE CASE OF CHILDREN, AND TO 
FIT THEM FOR ALL THE PRACTICAL PURPOSES 
OF LIFE, MATHEMATICAL BOOKS ARE NOT 
NECESSARY, AND ARE AN ACTUAL HINDRANCE 
TO THE TEACHER AND PUPILS, IN TEACHING 
THE PRINCIPLES OF MATHEMATICS AND THE 
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THEM TO THE 
NECESSITIES OF COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL 
INTERCOURSE AND EXCHANGE. 

TOO many books, too many rules, too 
many and severe lessons, too many 
recitations, too many "problems" to 
be worked out " after school hours," these 
are the things that make the study of math- 
ematics so dry, so irksome, and often so 
destructive to the health of the averaee 
child in our schools. 

(206) 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 207 

I wish it to be understood by all who may 
read this little book in which my method of 
teaching my children is set forth, that they 
are in no sense geniuses and show no pre- 
cocity along any line of mental endowment. 
They are simply healthy, sensible, active- 
minded children, having, as almost all child- 
ren born of capable parents have, a strong 
desire to learn. If we had a "child gen- 
ius " in the family we should not know what 
to do with him. In an all-round sort of 
way they are well endowed. They speak 
grammatically, because they have never 
heard language spoken any other way. 
They read with clearness of tone and with- 
out any vicious vocalism, because they 
have never heard bad reading or been 
taught by any professor of " Voice Culture." 
They listen with greater interest to intelli- 
gent conversation than most children of 
their age, because their vocabulary is larger, 
perfectly in hand, and they understand what 
is said. They appear to know more than 
they do, because what they know they 



2o8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

know thoroughly. But so far as I can dis- 
cern they are not specially gifted in any- 
thing unless it be in the artistic direction. 
For their own and my entertainment they 
draw, with a common lead pencil on a pad 
of ordinary paper, pictures of dogs and cats, 
of birds and horses, and even of men and 
women, with such faithfulness to nature, 
especially in humorous expression, as to be 
very entertaining. And many a happy hour 
have we had together as, seated around me, 
their little stubby pencils covered the coarse 
page with the expressions of feline rage, or 
canine frolics, or human foolishness that 
they had seen or humorously conceived of. 
For the good God has blessed them with a 
fine sense of humor, and made their mouths 
know laughter as their natural tongue, and 
armed them against the ills and losses of 
life with His best antidote. 

The impression that the study of mathe- 
matics is a dry and hard one and puts a 
severe strain upon a child, which is the pop- 
ular one both with children and parents 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 209 

alike, is not a true one. It is not justified 
by the facts of the case. It is based upon 
the supposition that the study of figures, in 
their simple and combined form, is not nat- 
ural to the child mind, and, being alien to it, 
the child undertakes the study only under 
pressure, and hence finds it irksome. For 
what a child does not do naturally and find 
pleasure in doing he does not like to do 
and does not do thoroughly unless under 
strong and hateful compulsion. But there 
is nothing more natural to a child born in a 
civilized community than the study of num- 
bers, and in the average the mathematical 
faculty, if I may so call it, is as normal and 
as fully developed in a healthy child as any 
other faculty. And there is no form of 
knowledge to which they come more natur- 
ally than to that of figures and the combi- 
nation of them for practical use, and no 
child can even get through the sports of the 
day and enjoy games with playmates with- 
out using, at least, the nine digits in some 
14 



2IO HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

form of combination. i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 
9, is as easy for them to learn as the first 
nine letters of the alphabet, and the use of 
them is as imperatively called for as the use 
of words. The trouble they meet with in 
mastering and becoming familiar with math- 
ematical combinations within the range of 
childhood study is owing, not to any nat- 
ural difficulty in the study, but to the arbi- 
trary, conventional, and unfortunate manner 
in which they are taught. The system em- 
ployed is the cause of all the trouble and 
not the nature of the study or the natural 
incapacity of the little pupil to understand 
and enjoy the instruction called for or the 
mental exercise demanded for even rapid 
progress. My children have never seen an 
arithmetic or any mathematical book what- 
soever ; have never learned any "rules" or 
been called upon to solve any " problems," 
and yet they compute interest at any per 
cent, on any sum up to a million without 
the use of pencil or pen as quickly as an 
adult can, and are well advanced in the 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 211 

addition, subtraction, multiplication, and 
division of fractions. It would be no more 
silly for one to assert that one cannot be- 
come a Christian without a knowledge of 
theological dogmas than to say that a child 
cannot master practical mathematics as far 
as called for in actual life without the help 
of mathematical books. The words of 
Jesus, the simple and plain teachings of the 
Master, are sufficient to make one wise unto 
salvation ; and the study and use of the nine 
digits in simple and easily understood com- 
bination is all that a child needs to make 
him a mathematical scholar, and one of no 
mean attainments at that. 

The alphabet of all mathematical knowl- 
edge is of course the nine digits, and math- 
ematical knowledge is the knowledge of 
their combination. How to combine these, 
and what their combination can be made 
to express in size, weight, amount, and 
value, is the object and scope of mathe- 
matical study. And all this can be done 
without the help of books, and in a way to 



212 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

yield both mental development and unal- 
loyed delight to a child. At least, these are 
my views and the ones presented to my 
children at the beginning of their mathemat- 
ical studies. Hence they came to them as to 
an entertainment and not a task, and as they 
have progressed in knowledge of figures to 
the manifold combinations and application 
of them in the affairs of life, they have, at 
every step of their advance, experienced a 
keen delight. Pleasure and not pain, self- 
possession and not confusion of mind, pride 
of ability and not the mortification of fail- 
ure, have been their daily experience. 

I wish the reader to understand that I 
have no pet plan or hobby as to method 
in teaching. But the spirit must always 
be amiable, the manner friendly, and the 
method in harmony with the child nature. 

The first lesson was the memorizing of 
the digits. In point of fact it grew out of 
playful necessity. 

One winter evening we were eating pop- 
corn, parched on the old hearth-stone. It 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



213 



was a stormy night, and every window sash 
on the north side of the old house had an 
seoHan harp in it and every cornice and 
angle was a bagpipe. The hail struck the 
shingles as if a hundred spiteful hands were 
pelting it with coarse salt. Outside all was 
wild and fierce. Nature was in her ugliest 
mood, and all her untamed forces were 
snarling at the chimney top. But the old 
fire-place roared and flashed a fiery stream 
of defiance up at them. The lamp was ex- 
tinguished, and in the warm russet glow 
and warmth, the children sat with the pile 
of parched corn on the old settle before 
them. Then came the momentous question 
how to divide the pile ? as momentous to 
them as the division of another pile would 
be to a Carnegie or a Frick. Then came the 
Teacher's opportunity, and he suggested 
that there should be nine successive divis- 
ions — if the corn held out long enough 
for it. First, Maudie should count out 
and give one to each of us. Then two. 
Then three. Then /ozi?'. Thenyfz/^. Then 



214 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



six. Then seven. Then eight. Then nine. 
Which would be the number and names of 
the digits, of which I had told them some- 
what, a few days before. This pleased them 
mightily. And it is safe to say that no 
** Count" was ever watched more narrowly 
than this one was. The pile of parched 
corn held out, as did the appetites of the 
feasters, and when the feast was over the 
dear ones knew the nine digits and their 
" application " to human affairs ! 

In the same happy conditions the princi- 
ples of Addition, Multiplication, Subtrac- 
tion, and Division were taught them. They 
were all connected with and the outgrowth 
of their entertainments. They represented 
abundance, justice, generosity, the giving 
and taking of love, and the mutual and 
equal sharing even to the last bite of an 
apple or the small, slyly treasured heap of 
nut kernels. And of this I am sure, that 
many and long will be the years, and white 
and deep that snow which sifts cold forget- 
fulness on memory of happy days, a happy 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 21 5 

home life and happy studentship, before 
they will forget their learning of the digits 
and the four great methods of applying 
them to human affairs. 

And these little mathematical students, 
working away without any books to blind 
or fetter their faculties, have discovered 
many curious things connected with the 
digits that many of us adults, trained in 
school and college, do not know. And in 
this direction they have found vast enter- 
tainment and such quickness in calculation 
as few attain, together with such an inde- 
pendent outgoing of mind touching the 
nature and scope of figures when applied in 
combination as to confirm my hope that, in 
their case, they are not merely acquiring a 
certain mass of mathematical knowledge but 
being in fact educated in their faculties. 

I had been telling them one evening of 
the " Mystery of Figures " ; that of the an- 
cient Folk there were some who were great 
students of mathematics and were very wise 
in the science of numbers, and that they 



2i6 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

held that when figures were applied to 
earthly things, such as the weight, size, 
and value of material substances, they were 
only fulfilling their lowest function, and not 
until they were applied to the ascertainment 
of Spiritual things, universal relations, com- 
binations, and values, and especially to the 
nature and energies of the Supreme Being, 
did figures get their true employment or 
their rank and dignity in application. And 
that I suspected that in the digits them- 
selves, even in the short space which meas- 
ured the distance between i and 9, they 
would, should they see fit to seek, find a 
good many curious things ; my idea being 
to prompt them to original investigation 
and to make them quick in dividing and 
combining figures. The seed certainly fell 
on good ground, for the very next day 
Maudie came to me and said : 

** Father, if you set down the digits in 
regular and reversed order and add them 
up, what do you think the result will be?" 

''Show me," I said. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 217 

And this is what she had : 

123456789 
987654321 



I I I I I I I I I o 



" Excellent ! " I said after glancing at it. 
" And now, Ruby, what have you on your 
pad?" 

And I saw she had the digits in regular 

and reversed order twice as follows : 

123456789 
987654321 
123456789 
987654321 



2222222220 



And the next evening they brought me 

the following : 

123456789 
987654321 
123456789 
987654321 
123456789 
987654321 

3333333330 

And the next evening in the midst of a 
game of checkers they suddenly thought of 



2l8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

their mathematical investigations and ex- 
claimed : 

" O father, we had a great time with our 
digit exercise to-day, for we got so that we 
could add a column at a glance almost ; and 
the results were too funny to believe, until 
we had gone over the columns again and 
again." And this was what they had been 
testing so thoroughly and the result that 
had seemed to them so "funny" : 



I 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


I 


I 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5 


4 


v3 


2 


I 


I 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


I 


I 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


I 



4444444440 

"Well," I said, "you are on the right 
trail to some curious bits of knowledge 
about the ' science of numbers,' and I advise 
you to keep at your investigations. For it 
will make you ' mighty quick at figures,' as 
the saying is, and you are certainly finding 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 219 

out that mathematics are not a very dry or 
severe study." 

The next day, coming in from some farm 
work, both came at me with a rush to show 
me their digit exercise. 

Ruby had been practicing on the digits 
ten times reversed and Maudie with the 
same twelve times reversed, as follows : 

Ruby's Exercise. Maudie's Exercise. 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 



I 23456789 
555555555 987654321 

6666666660 

The next two days I was absent from 
home, but the first thing on my return they 
must show me was the result of their digit 
work while I was away : 



220 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Ruby's Exercise. Maudie's Exercise. 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 

123456789 123456789 

987654321 987654321 



111111111^ 98765432? 

8888888880 

I must confess that their work interested 
me vastly, and that I became a child again 
and did some "mighty figuring" for several 
days with them. But I soon found that in 
some respects I was not " at the head of the 
class," especially in multiplication, for they 
had carried the Table up to 24 times 24, 
whereas I had stopped at 12 times 12 ; and 
I discovered that a child that could say : 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 221 

24 times 2 is 48 
24 times 7 is 168 
24 times 13 is 312 
24 times 1 7 is 408 
24 times 24 is 576 

as quickly and easily as I could say 12 
times 12 is 144, had such an advantage over 
me in " figuring " that an university educa- 
tion and forty years of steady studentship 
didn't count ! So I told them that I thought 
it to be more in harmony with the dignity 
of my position as "Teacher" to oversee and 
keep the record of their studies than to en- 
gage in such trifling mental exercises as 
multiplying a few simple numbers ; and 
with this one farther record of their work I 
will close this Chapter. And I do this be- 
cause it gives to any person an excellent 
exercise in addition at which I found that 
my pupils could beat me "all out of sight." 
" The fact is," I said, in order to back out 
of any future competition gracefully, "the 
fact is, you are beyond doubt ' Daughters 
of the Magi ' ; and what can an ordinary 



222 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

modern do against such witches of mathe- 
matical heredity as you are ! " 



Ruby's Exercise. 


Maudie's Exercise. 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


12345678 


9 


I 


23456789 


98765432 


I 


9 


87654321 


'' 


~~' 


I 


23456789 


999999999 





9 


87654321 



I I I I I I I I I o o 



Suppose, reader, you multiply the digits 
by the last digit ? 



Chapter XII. 

STUDY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE 
AND LITERATURE. 

IN THIS CHAPTER THE STUDY OF ENGLISH LIT- 
ERATURE AND BELLES LETTRES IS VINDI- 
CATED FROM THE DEBASEMENT PUT UPON IT 
IN CERTAIN OF OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVER- 
SITIES, AND THE METHOD EXPLAINED BY 
WHICH MY CHILDREN WILL BECOME FAMIL- 
IAR WITH THE NOBLEST EXPRESSIONS, BOTH 
IN PROSE AND POETRY, OF THEIR NATIVE 
TONGUE ; THEREBY GIVING TO THEM AS 
THEY GROW IN KNOWLEDGE, ELEVATION 
OF MIND AND THE ABILITY TO EXPRESS 
THEIR THOUGHTS WITH PURITY OF DIC- 
TION AND SIMPLICITY OF SPEECH WHICH 
DISTINGUISH THE EDUCATED FROM THE UN- 
SCHOLARLY. 

IT is a great shame that young men are 
being graduated from our colleges and 
universities to-day unable to write and 
speak the English language with precis- 
ion and eloquence. It is a greater shame 

(223) 



224 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

that men are filling high positions in these 
institutions of learning who are not able to 
write and speak it in a forcible and scholar- 
ly manner themselves. What right have 
they to fill such positions, disqualified as 
they are to fill them acceptably, is not per- 
ceivable to those who have sound judgment 
in such matters. In such a country as ours, 
populated as it largely is by the ignorant of 
many foreign nations, and at a time when 
the tendency is toward slovenliness and vul- 
garity of speech, it would seem that those 
who belong to the scholarly class should do 
the utmost in their power not only to pro- 
tect the language of Christianity and Lib- 
erty both from deterioration but to lift it 
yet higher in purity and efficiency. In 
doing this they would, by the judgment 
of all thoughtful and right-minded men and 
women, not only reflect honor upon them- 
selves but perform a public duty. What- 
ever institution of learning does this is 
worthy of all honor. And whatever one 
fails to do this should be condemned by the 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



225 



people. These truths we hold to be self- 
evident to all who are intelligent and love 
learning. The question is not debatable. 
The movement of the world's progress is 
in one direction. The Zones of all the 
earth are vocal with English speech. Greece 
was once the schoolhouse of the world. 
Then came the Roman Empire, and modern 
Jurisprudence draws its sap to-day from her 
Codes. It was not the bravery of Sparta 
or the vivacity of the Athenian, but the 
purity, the vigor and the elegance of her 
language, that made Greece great in life 
and greater in death. It was the correct 
and noble manner in which her philoso- 
phers, her poets, her orators, wrote and 
spoke that made her a world power. The 
Roman Standards went down in defeat, 
but the Roman language ruled the world 
of thought, of law, of diplomacy, a thou- 
sand years after her eagles had ceased to 
fly. And now in the order of events, 
the English-speaking race comes to the 
15 



226 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

front of world-wide effort and the English 
language may yet become the medium of 
universal communication and expression of 
human thought, feeling, and life. 

It is incredible to suppose that any ill- 
formed and slovenly written and spoken 
language shall ever capture the reason, the 
imagination, and the affections of the world. 
No language that is merely the language of 
trade, of commerce, and which merely meets 
the necessity of exchange, of barter and 
dicker between men drawn into connection 
by selfish or base ambitions, can ever be- 
come a world language or long maintain its 
supremacy. It must be so written and spo- 
ken as to capture the applause of scholars, 
supply a facile medium of expression to 
profound thinkers, charm the poet, accom- 
modate the need of courts, and win the 
orator to its use. It must meet the wants 
of the heart and soul as truly as of the 
mind, and be so far superior to all other 
tongues as to win the universal acceptance 
of mankind. Whoever improves the Eng- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 22/ 

lish language improves its chance of uni- 
versal adoption. First a common language, 
then the perception of common interests, 
then community of feeling, and finally the 
sense of Brotherhood. World-wide frater- 
nity will be born of a world-wide Mother 
Tongue. 

I have seen letters written by University 
men, who were graduated from an Institu- 
tion whose fame fills the country, whose 
sentences were so slovenly constructed and 
whose words were so ill chosen that it seem- 
ed impossible that they could be the alumni 
of any school or college whatever, or that 
they could socially and intellectually belong 
to any other than the laboring class. You 
cannot mingle in good society in this coun- 
try and not meet with clever and mentally 
very capable people whose ideas are many 
and admirable but who are unable to express 
them. They have thought but no word- 
symbol for the thought. Their wit is mar- 
red, their humor silent, their knowledge hid- 
den, their real ability unrealized, because 



228 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

they are lacking in their vocabulary and do 
not know the expressional i^esources of their 
own tongue. There is no deprivation to a 
clever person greater than this. It consti- 
stutes a form, and a severe form, too, of 
dumbness. To the mass of the American 
People, even of the better sort, the knowl- 
edge of speaking and writing the English 
language correctly and elegantly is fast be- 
coming a lost art. A few of our poets and 
a larger number of our orators and a less 
number of our authors have done work in 
their generation in harmony with the best 
traditions of our literature, from Chaucer 
down, but of the other sort their names are 
legion. Strange as it seems to me when I 
consider the rush and hurry and hustle 
which are inevitably connected with Daily 
Journalism, I believe that the Editors of 
our Papers and their assistants, even down 
to the reporter whose appliances for good 
work consist of a pad, a pencil, and his knee 
for his desk, are writing better English than 
the average author. In the percentage of 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



229 



short words ; in the selection of adjectives ; 
in the structural simplicity and compactness 
of their sentences, and in that best proof of 
genius for writing — the fine sense which 
has in it a higher quality than talent, which 
tells the writer when he has said enough, — 
the literature of Journalism in this country 
to-day is better than that of the printed and 
much exploited volumes which are produced 
for " commercial " purposes and sold by 
"commercial methods." As a rule these 
volumes fetch, in the stalls where vulgar 
appetites are fed, about 1 1 cents per pound ! 
This gives to them a quotation nigh to 
prime pork or poor bacon, but in point of 
fact they have no such value. The quota- 
tion is too high ! 

And yet at such a time, some of our 
great universities are cramming a hodge- 
podge of Greek and Latin and modern lan- 
guages into their pupils ad nauseam, and 
teaching mathematics in such quantity, and 
arranging the curriculum in such a manner, 
that were the great Newton himself a stu- 



230 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

dent in them he would, by the end of his 
second term, be so confused that he would 
swear that there was no such thing as gravi- 
tation in the world, and that an apple, when 
it parted from its parent stem, invariably 
shot upward ! 

Of what use is Spanish ? Is it not already 
the dead tongue of a dead people ? And 
why waste time in learning French ? Let 
France nationalize Paris first and make her 
language something more and better than 
the tongue of a single city ; a city noted for 
its frivolousness rather than its gravity, its 
bon-mots rather than its wisdom, its revolu- 
tionary frenzies rather than those high and 
steadfast qualities that give permanence and 
lasting glory to Empires. 

The German ? yea, learn it by all means. 
That is a live language, the language of 
great scholars ; of poets whose measures 
are deathless ; of musicians who, in eternity, 
divide wreaths with the song makers ; of 
generals, whose campaigns were the art of 
war, materialized ; of rulers who were so 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 231 

truly great that they admired Letters and 
loved their father-land. Yes, learn German 
by all means and learn it thoroughly, too ; 
for only so can you know what the human 
mind has done and is capable of doing. 
Woo it and wed it to your mother tongue, 
and in so loving and noble a fashion that 
the marriage shall be as between Powers 
and Principalities of equal rank. 

But outside the German and the English 
the really great Tongues are in the East, 
where the human race has been from the 
beginning ; where it has multiplied beyond 
all census ; where it has worked out civili- 
zations to the limit of the possible ; evolved 
philosophies toward the spiritual beyond 
our understanding ; received the seed germs 
of religious faith and developed them 
through measureless distances in time into 
systems of thought and life, so absolutely 
accepted as wise and best as to become 
verities of duration ; where fixedness of con- 
dition does not mean barrenness of thought 
but the confession of highest thought that 



232 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

its limitation had been reached and nothing 
of and for man could be perfect under the 
sun, as it dropped, even as a bird drops 
spent unto death by its flight, never more 
to move wing or attempt the sky, into the 
grasses. 

The languages of the East, where man 
and, therefore, God, has been from the 
beginning, both those that are living and 
those that were alive, and expressed the 
loves and hates, the good and evil, in man 
ten thousand years ago ; the Chinese and the 
Indian spoken to-day by nearly, if not quite, 
one-half the human race : Verily, were I 
but twenty I would set myself to learn these 
old tongues, that I might acquire whatever 
of hope, of faith, of courage, of wisdom, of 
love and loving, they have ever told to 
men. 

Next to having great thoughts yourself is 
knowing what great thoughts others have 
had, and the young, while at a period 
of life when they are naturally linguists, 
can easily familiarize themselves with the 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 233 

noblest, sweetest, and purest thoughts of 
their race. The knowledge of words first, 
a vocabulary of the language ample enough 
to enable them to apprehend aright the 
scope and meaning of what has been written 
by the best authors both in prose and verse : 
this is the one essential equipment for suc- 
cessful study of their mother tongue. 
Teach your children words, and you will 
put them in touch with the best thought 
and feeling in the world. 

The first lines of poetry my little pupils 
ever committed were from Byron's Childe 
Harold. I had been telling them stories, 
one evening, of the dogs of the world, the 
different breeds, uses and peculiarities, of 
the relation a good dog quickly establishes 
with his master and his family, and in how 
many ways he made himself useful and 
pleasant to man, and that literature both in 
prose and poetry had paid loving tribute 
to " man's best friend," and I quoted the 
lines : 



234 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

" 'Tis sweet to hear the watchdog's 

honest bark 
Bay deep-mouthed welcome as we draw 

near home. 
'Tis sweet to know there is an eye to 

mark 
Our coming and grow brighter when we 

come." 

And the next morning when Rover signaled 
from his kennel they repeated Byron's lines 
with accuracy and ease. 

One evening I had been reciting poetry 
to them, as was my custom, and telling 
them of the noble uses of poetry in shap- 
ing the mind and soul and its relation to 
the language, and that no one could be 
called a scholar who did not know by heart 
the best poetry of his country and tongue. 
And in answer to the question they put to 
me, "If it was a hard task to learn the 
poetry of the English language?" 

I replied, "If you two girls will learn one 
verse or passage of poetry every day for 
the next four years, with the name of the 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 235 

poem and poet, together with his nation- 
ahty, rank, and most noted verses, you will 
know more about the poets and poetry of 
the English-speaking race than your father 
does or any man he ever met." 

The plan pleased them immensely, and is 
now being carried forth with such a result 
already as is simply astounding. After a 
month of practice their memories were so 
developed that entire poems were commit- 
ted instead of verses, and I was compelled 
to put a limit to their acquisition, or the 
supply of poetry and poets would not hold 
out for a year ! 

The following recitations will serve to 
suggest the nature of their studies in Belles 
Lettres and the varieties of thought and 
feelinof with which their minds and hearts 
are being made familiar. And it will serve 
also to suggest the scope and extent of 
their knowledge of English poetry which 
even one year of studentship in this direc- 
tion will give them. I will not guarantee 
that the wording is in all cases correct, for 



236 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

in most instances they learned them from 
my own recitation to them, and memory 
is apt to let some things slip in the pas- 
sage of time which stretches from the 
present to the day when I memorized 
them myself. And some were taken from 
books that may not have been carefully 
edited ; that most vicious habit of modern 
book making. 

RECITATION I. 

Evening Bells. 
by thomas moore. 

(The Irish Poet.) 

Those Evening Bells, Those Evening Bells, 
How many a Tale their music tells 
Of youth and home and that sweet time 
When first I heard their soothing chimes. 

And so 'twill be when I am gone, — 
Those tuneful bells will still ring on. 
While other bards will walk these dells, 
And sing your praise, Sweet Evening Bells. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 237 

RECITATION II. 
Farewell. 

(By the Same.) 

Farewell, and whenever you welcome the 
hour 

That awakens the night song of mirth in 
your bower, 

Then think of the friend who once wel- 
comed it too, 

And forgot his own grief to be happy with 
you. 

Those Griefs may return ; not a joy may 
remain. 

Of the few that have brightened his path- 
way of pain : 

But he ne'er will forget the bright vision 
that threw 

Its enchantment around him while lingering 
with you. 

Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy, 
Bright dreams of the past, which she can- 
not destroy. 



238 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Which come in the night time of trouble 

and care 
To bring back the features that joy used to 

wear. 

Long, long be my heart with such memories 

filled, 
Like the Vase in which roses have once 

been distilled : 
You may break, you may shatter the vase 

if you will, 
But the scent of the roses will cling round 

it still. 

RECITATION III. 
The Minstrel Boy. 

(By the Same.) 

The Minstrel Boy to the war has gone ; 

In the ranks of death you will find him. 
His father's sword he has girded on 

And his wild harp strung behind him. 
Land of song, said the warrior bard. 

Though all the world betrays thee, 
One sword at least thy rights shall guard ; 

One faithful heart shall praise thee. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



239 



The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain 

Could not bring his proud soul under. 
The harp he loved ne'er spake again, 

For he tore its chords asunder. 
And said, No chains shall sully thee, 

Thou soul of song and bravery ! 
Thy notes were made for the proud and free ; 

They shall never sound in slavery. 

RECITATION IV. 

Thanatopsis. 

by william cullen bryant. 

(Closing Passage.) 

So live that when thy summons comes 

To join the innumerable caravan 

That moves to that mysterious realm, where 

each must 
Take his chamber in the silent halls of 

death, 
Thou go not like a quarry slave at night 
Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained 

and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
As one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him and lies down to pleasant dreams. 



240 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

RECITATION V. 
The XIXth Psalm. 
The heavens declare the glory of God ; 
and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. 
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night 
unto night sheweth knowledge. There is 
no speech nor language, where their voice 
is not heard. Their line is gone out 
through all the earth, and their words to 
the end of the world. In them hath he set 
a tabernacle for the sun. Which is as a bride- 
groom coming out of his chamber, and re- 
joiceth as a strong man to run a race. His 
going forth is from the end of the heaven, 
and his circuit unto the ends of it. And 
there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. 

RECITATION VI. 
The XXIIId Psalm. 
The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not 
want. He maketh me to lie down in green 
pastures : he leadeth me beside the still 
waters. He restoreth my soul : he leadeth 
me in the paths of righteousness for his 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



241 



name's sake. Yea, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will 
fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod 
and thy staff they comfort me. Thou pre- 
parest a table before me in the presence of 
my enemies : thou anointest my head with 
oil ; my cup runneth over. Surely good- 
ness and mercy shall follow me all the days 
of my life : and I will dwell in the house of 
the Lord forever. 

RECITATION VII. 

Marco Bozzaris. 

by fitz-green halleck. 

(Of Guilford, Conn.) 

At midnight in his guarded tent 

The Turk was dreaming of the hour 

When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent, 
Would tremble at his power. 

In dreams, through camp and court, he bore 

The trophies of a conqueror ; 

Then wore his monarch's signet ring, 
16 



242 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Then pressed that monarch's throne — a 

king ! 
As wild his thoughts, as gay of wing, 
As Eden's garden bird. 

At midnight in the forest shades 

Bozzaris ranged his SuHote band, 
True as the steel of their tried blades, 

Heroes in heart and hand. 
There had the Persian thousands stood, 
There had the glad earth drunk their blood, 

In old Platsea's day; 
And now there breathed that haunted air 
The sons of sires that conquered there, 
With hands to strike and hearts to dare 

As quick, as far, as they. 

An hour passed on ; the Turk awoke. 

That bright dream was his last. 
He woke to hear the sentry's shriek. 
To arms! they come! — the Greek, the 

Greek ! 
He woke to die midst flame and smoke 
And shout and groans and sabre's stroke 

And death shots falling thick and fast 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 243 

As lightning from the midnight cloud, 
And hear with voice as trumpet loud 
Bozzaris cheer his band. 

RECITATION VIII. 
On the Death of Rodman Drake. 
Green be the turf above thee, 
Friend of my better days ; 
None knew thee but to love thee. 
None named thee but to praise. 

Tears fell when thou wert dying, 
From eyes unused to weep ; 

And long where thou art lying 
Will tears the cold turf steep. 

RECITATION IX. 

LOCHINVAR. 
BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. 

Oh, young Lochinvar is come out of the 

west ; 
Through all the wide Border his steed was 

the best ; 
And save his good broadsword, he weapon 

had none. 



244 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone. 
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, 
There never was knight like the young 
Lochinvar. 

He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not 

for stone ; 
He swam the Esk river, where ford there 

was none ; 
But ere he alighted at Netherby gate. 
The bride had consented — the gallant 

came late : 
For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war. 
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Loch- 
invar. 

So boldly he entered the Netherby hall. 

Among bridesmen, and kinsmen, and broth- 
ers, and all : 

Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on 
his sword 

(For the poor craven bridegroom said never 
a word). 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



245 



"Oh, come ye in peace here, or come ye in 

war, 
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord 

Lochinvar ? " 

" I long wooed your daughter, my suit you 

denied ; — 
Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like 

its tide — 
And now am I come, with this lost love of 

mine. 
To tread but one measure, drink one cup of 

wine. 
There are maidens in Scotland, more lovely 

by far. 
That would gladly be bride to the young 

Lochinvar." 

The bride kissed the goblet : the knight 

took it up. 
He quaffed off the wine, and he threw down 

the cup. 
She looked down to blush, and she looked 

up to sigh, 



246 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her 

eye. 
He took her soft hand, ere her mother 

could bar, — 
"Now tread we a measure!" said young 

Lochinvar. 

So stately his form, and so lovely her face. 
That never a hall such a galHard did grace ; 
While her mother did fret, and her father 

did fume, 
And the bridegroom stood dangling his 

bonnet and plume. 
And the bridemaidens whispered, " 'T were 

better by far, 
To have matched our fair cousin with 

young Lochinvar." 

One touch to her hand, and one word in 

her ear. 
When they reached the hall door, and the 

charger stood near ; 
So light to the croupe the fair lady he 

swung, 
So light to the saddle before her he sprung ! 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 247 

" She is won ! we are gone, over bank, bush, 

and scaur ; 
They'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth 

young Lochinvar. 

There was mounting 'mong Graemes of the 

Netherby clan ; 
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they 

rode and they ran : 
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie 

Lee, 
But the lost Bride of Netherby ne'er did 

they see. 
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war. 
Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young 

Lochinvar ? 

RECITATION X. 

Rock me to Sleep, Mother. 

Backward, turn backward, O Time in your 

flight. 
Make me a child again, just for to-night ! 
Mother, come back from the echoless shore, 
Take me again to your heart, as of yore ; 



248 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care, 
Smooth the few silver threads out of my 

hair. 
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep. 
Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep ; 
Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. 

RECITATION XI. 

Crossing the Bar, 
by alfred tennyson. 

(Of England.) 

Sunset and Evening Star, 

And one clear call for me ! 
And may there be no moaning of the bar. 

When I put out to sea. 

But such a tide as moving seems asleep. 

Too full for sound and foam, 
When that which drew from out the bound- 
less deep 

Turns again home. 

Twilight and evening bell, 

And after that the dark ! 
And may there be no sadness of farewell, 

When I embark ; 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 249 

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and 
Place 

The flood may bear me far, 
I hope to see my Pilot face to face 

When I have crossed the bar. 

RECITATION XII. 

Home, Sweet Home. 

by john howard payne. 

'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may 

roam. 
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like 

home ; 
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us 

there, 
Which, seek thro' the world, is ne'er met 
with elsewhere. 
Home, home, sweet, sweet home ! 
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like 
home. 

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in 

vain ; 
Oh ! give me my lowly thatched cottage 

again. 



250 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

The birds singing gaily, that come at my 

call — 
Give me their sweet peace of mind, dearer 

than all. 

If I return home, overburdened with care. 
The heart's dearest solace I'm sure to meet 

there ; 
The bliss I experience whenever I come, 
Makes no other place seem like that of 

sweet home. 

Home, home, etc. 

RECITATION XIII. 
The Play, 
by thackeray. 
The play is done — the curtain drops 
Slow falling to the prompter's bell ; 
A moment yet the actor stops, 

And looks around to say farewell. 
It is an irksome word and task, 

And, when he's laughed and said his say, 
He shows, as he removes the mask, 
A face that's anything but gay. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 251 

So each shall mourn, in life's advance, 

Dear hopes, dear friends, untimely killed — • 
Shall grieve for many a forfeit chance, 

And longing passion unfulfilled. 
Amen ! — Whatever fate be sent. 

Pray God the heart may kindly glow, 
Although the head with cares be bent, 

And whitened with the winter's snow. 



Chapter XIII. 

PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE OF 
CIVIC PROCEDURE. 

IN THIS CHAPTER IT IS EXPLAINED THAT CHIL- 
DREN IN A FREE COUNTRY SHOULD BE 
TAUGHT HOW TO ORGANIZE AND CONDUCT 
WITH DIGNITY AND DECORUM PRIVATE AND 
PUBLIC GATHERINGS FOR DISCUSSION OF 
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO INDIVIDUALS AND 
THE COMMUNITY, AND THAT THIS EDUCATION 
SHOULD AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME BE GIVEN 
TO GIRLS, THAT THEY, WHEN THEY COME TO 
WOMANHOOD, MAY BE QUALIFIED TO DO 
THEIR DUTY WITHOUT EMBARRASSMENT AND 
WITH EFFICIENCY, AND FILL WITH ACCEPT- 
ANCE ANY POSITION TO WHICH THEY MAY 
BE CALLED. 

IT is a maxim with me that out of the 
homes of the Nation should issue those 
influences and forces that are needed 
to shape and ennoble the development of 

National life, and that any education of 

(252) 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 253 

children which does not make them intelli- 
gent touching the principles and value of 
Liberty, and how that liberty is reduced 
and applied to practice in conducting of 
public affairs, falls short of the object 
aimed at. Girls, because of the influence 
of women and the prominence they have 
won by their intelligence and energy in our 
country, especially need this form of educa- 
tion, that they may be delivered from that 
ignorance which disqualifies and that result- 
ant embarrassment which is painful. That 
women are destined to co-operate with men 
in the development of our civilization and 
the farther upbuilding of our institutions 
will not, by any intelligent person, be 
denied. For the first time in civic affairs 
men and women are united for a com- 
mon endeavor. Knowledge and patriotism 
are no longer masculine. The feminine 
element, the feminine personality, are to 
be reckoned with. The finer spirit is to 
co-operate with the stronger vigor ; the 
affectional capacity reinforce the mental. 



254 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



Intuition will assist the reason. The world 
has never hitherto seen such a union. Our 
faith is, that the world has never seen such 
a glorious accomplishment as will result 
from it. This is a "Holy Alliance" of 
which man may have no fear, and on which 
God, who made both male and female, can 
smile in approval. The union of man and 
woman in intelligent and amiable accord 
has, in the domestic sphere, made the home 
what it is. The union of the two in the 
political realm will make the Nation what 
it should be. 

In capacity to think and think rightly; in 
purity of purpose and nobility of feeling ; 
in sagacity to discern the false and detect a 
fraud in person or policy ; in devotion to 
principle and courage to dare and do, 
woman is divinely equipped for the ad- 
ministration of public affairs. But in the 
practical application of these high qualities 
to the actual conditions of public service 
she is lacking. By the custom and usage 
of ages she has been shut out from the 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 255 

knowledgfe needed. Give her this knowl- 
edge and then whatever God intends will 
happen. 

I have, as many know, served in public 
life and presided as chairman over many- 
committees, and been President of gather- 
ings composed in part of gentlemen, in part 
of rowdies, and in part of those who were 
a cross between the two — having the man- 
ners of the one and the spirit of the other. 
I suppose I conducted myself fairly well, 
for in each instance I escaped with my life. 
But I remember with the creeping of terror 
to this day the first time I ever filled the 
President's chair of a debating society. 
The rulings I made that night should have 
secured for me immortal remembrance ; and 
would have, had they been reported ! The 
President of the society did not know one 
single thing about parliamentary rules and 
usages ; the members didn't know any more 
than the President. The debate was a 
hot one ; every one who had any capacity 
got mad, and so we had a most enjoyable 



256 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

time. Along toward midnight things had 
come to such a pass that something had 
got to be done to save my reputation as a 
presiding officer and the house from tak- 
ing fire, and in my emergency, from some 
providential source there came the knowl- 
edge that a motion to adjourn couldn't be 
debated, and so I made the motion myself, 
declared it passed, and retired out of a back 
window to allow the meeting a chance to 
cool off and settle down. 

To educate children in the practical 
workings of parliamentary law ; to teach 
them its fundamental principles, uses and 
value in the conducting of public affairs, is 
a very simple undertaking. To extemporize 
a gavel out of a pocket knife, tap on a table 
or chair and "call the house to order" is as 
easy to do as for Thomas Brackett Reed 
to smother the report of an obnoxious 
committee. To explain to them the use 
of the gavel, the dignified place it occu- 
pies in the practical working of free Gov- 
ernment, and tell them the story of certain 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 257 

gavels that have become historic because 
of the noted conventions and pubHc bodies 
they called to order on memorable occa- 
sions, is surely no great task for any 
teacher or parent. But to children who 
love beyond all else stories and story-tell- 
ing, and especially those that deal with 
notable persons, memorable events, and 
strange experiences, this manner of teach- 
ing at the beginning gives a charm to 
the subject and causes them to anticipate 
all coming instruction with delight. In 
short, the child-nature is to be ever in the 
mind of one who would educate a child. 

The first " public meeting " that my pupils 
ever organized was to consider a very mo- 
mentous question. I had told them that if 
they would select six names for as many 
little puppies I would tell them a story 
about them ; but that they must proceed in 
a dignified parliamentary manner, and that 
every name must be selected with as much 
discrimination and honesty as are used in 
17 



258 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

nominating the average caucus-chosen con- 
gressman to office. 

So Maudie tapped on the old settle with 
her pencil, called the meeting to order, 
stated the object of the meeting, and asked 
the audience, to wit. Ruby and Gracie, " If 
there is any business to bring before the 
meeting ? " This she did with the face of a 
Sphinx and a voice as clear and sharp as the 
fall of a trip-hammer. Whereupon Gracie 
— seven years old — arose, and, steadying 
herself by the back of her chair, with a 
voice pitched as high as a walking delegate's 
in a labor convention, exclaimed, " Miss 
Chairman, I move that Miss Ruby Murray 
be chosen to be the secretary of this meet- 
ing." This motion was received and put 
and declared carried by the temporary 
chairman. Then the Secretary, having 
taken a chair and stolen a pad and pencil 
from my writing table — a method of pro- 
ceeding not known to Parliamentary Law 
nor to be commended on moral grounds — 
rose and said, 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 259 

" Ladies, that there may be a permanent 
Chairman of this meeting, I move that 
Miss Murray be elected to fill that position." 
This was unanimously carried and the re- 
cipient of the honor declared to be duly 
elected. These elections reduced the unof- 
ficial membership of the meeting to the 
number of one, and seriously threatened 
the existence of a working Quorum. But 
the Chairman had Mr. Reed's visual ca- 
pacity of seeing and not seeing as many 
present as were required to do business in 
a way that seemed to her needed by the 
public good, and so the " business " was 
pushed on to its conclusion. 

It is possible that to some this will seem 
a very light and trivial way in which to 
teach grave matters, but I assure them that 
the result justifies the method, for in a 
single month the method of organizing 
public meetings and the proper manner of 
presiding over them were so well under- 
stood and put in practice that it gave me 
the greatest pleasure to see these children 



26o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

go through the exercises connected with 
this branch of parliamentary proceedings : 
and better than this even was this other 
result, to wit : that the study of parliamen- 
tary rules and usages, and the history of 
the origin and development of the same in 
the English speaking race, was anticipated 
with the keenest delight. And to cause 
them to anticipate pleasure in farther 
studies is the best proof that the method 
of study by which children are being edu- 
cated is a good one. 



Chapter XIV. 

IN-DOOR AND OUT-DOOR EDU- 
CATION OF GIRLS. 

IN WHICH THE VALUE OF CERTAIN OUT-DOOR 
EXERCISES OF THE NOBLER SORT, SUCH AS 
ARCHERY, EQUESTRIANISM, YACHTING, AND 
SKATING, ARE COMMENTED ON, AND THE 
POSITION TAKEN THAT ANY SYSTEM OF EDU- 
CATION THAT DOES NOT DIRECTLY TEND TO 
MAKE A GIRL MORE AMIABLE IN DISPOSITION, 
MORE REFINED IN MANNERS, AND MORE 
LOVELY TO LOOK UPON, IS ONE FIT ONLY TO 
BE CAST OUT AND TRODDEN UNDER THE 
FEET OF MEN. 

ROADLY stated the system of educa- 
tion for children now in vogue among 
us is faulty in conception and practice 
because it is given within doors. To study 
books that tell us of things is a long and 
tedious way to knowledge. No wonder that 

children tire of it, hate it, and many faint by 

(261) 



262 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

the way. Children love to study the things 
themselves — and so learn of them directly. 
There is not a vegetable or cereal on the 
farm that these little pupils of mine have 
not planted or sown, cultivated and watched 
at every stage of its growth, and in almost 
every case prepared it or seen it prepared 
for the table. There is no animal, whether 
valuable for its flesh or fur, or a mere ver- 
min, whose track does not tell them its 
name, nor is there any sound in the fields 
and woods by day or night, that they cannot 
give the proper name to ; and this knowl- 
edge — a vast amount taken in the aggre- 
gate — has been attained not from books 
but from trapping and watching the birds 
and animals in their wild estate. To learn, 
to add fact to fact and knowledge to knowl- 
edge, was entertaining, too. How could 
they ever have got what they have out of 
books while shut inside the walls of a 
schoolhouse ? And what a tedious process 
it would have been ! These pupils of mine 
have a largeness and accuracy of knowledge 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 263 

that no amount of indoor studying could 
have given them, and the getting of it 
has, for the most part, been wholly of 
their own effort. And hence I know that 
the getting was accompanied by a develop- 
ment of faculty : that these outdoor studies 
taught them how to observe, to listen, to 
think and plan and reason, and there- 
fore, brought a genuine education to them. 
Things, facts, forces, the actualities of earth 
and life : these are what children should 
study if their studentship is to bring them 
much or be of much use to them in after 
life. And these are found outside and not 
inside of a schoolhouse. 

If the teachers and scholars of the coun- 
try could all be turned out of the school- 
houses, and their doors for six months 
locked against them, and they were obliged 
to study in the fields and on the sea-shore 
and by brooks and amid mountains, and 
wherever nature had a secret or a curious 
or sweet thing to tell them there would 
be a vast uplift of the entire educational 



264 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

area. Teachers would be compelled to act- 
ually teach, and children would in fact be- 
come students and learn something. Books, 
Books, Books. Nothing but Books ! No 
wonder that so many children are sick at 
the thought of being compelled to return 
to schoolhouses and lessons. 

One of the most delightful forms of 
knowledge, as it surely is one of the most 
useful, comes from the study of Trees and 
Tree culture, and trees cannot be studied 
inside a schoolhouse. The high placement 
which the Creator of the world has given 
to Trees both as connected with the health 
and comfort of human beings cannot es- 
cape the attention of any intelligent person. 
The influence which trees exert upon cli- 
mate is too direct, potent, and beneficent to 
be ignored. They moderate the scorching 
heat of summer and equalize the tempera- 
ture of day and night. From twig and leaf 
they are constantly yielding forth to the air 
men breathe the elements which vitalize and 
make it the source of health, vigor, and re- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 265 

freshment to those who breathe it. Ani- 
mals share with men this fine and needed 
ministration of trees. Economically they 
easily hold a front rank in man's regard. 
From trees the majority of all our homes 
are builded, and the needed shelter for cat- 
tle in winter made. From them the furni- 
ture of our houses is constructed ; and they 
perfectly meet the necessities of practical 
use and highest ornamentation. They beau- 
tify the world beyond expression and cause 
it to be, beyond any other single form of 
growth, fit for man's habitation. Their fo- 
liage gives to the earth that mold which 
both retains the rain that falls, for gradual 
distribution, and makes the soil from which 
all growths proceed. What sort of a sys- 
tem of education is that for American chil- 
dren that fails to make the knowledge of 
Trees and their uses one of its prime objects, 
or give to the study of Tree Life and Tree 
Culture a foremost place in its curriculum ? 
The " Groves were God's first Temples," 
sang the Poet; and where can He who gave 



266 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

the seeing eye and hearing ear to his earth- 
children be found more fully or worshiped 
more reverently than among the trees that 
He has made for our bodily comfort, the 
education of our artistic sense and the up- 
lifting of our thoughts and feelings unto 
Him? 

One night in early March, when the winds 
were blowing stormily over the chimney, we 
were all sitting — having just finished a 
game of chess — in front of the old Fire- 
Place, which was filled with flame and heat, 
when, — the theme suggested by the sight 
before me, — I began to discourse to them 
of fire, and things in human life and history 
connected with it. I told them of the old 
race that once used it as a symbol of God 
and his benevolence to men as we now do 
a bit of wood ; that these old folk were 
called in history Fire-worshipers, but with 
as little justice as we Christians might 
be named Cross-worshipers to-day ; of that 
wise and good being, whom we know as 
Zoroaster but whose actual name is hidden, 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 267 

of whose real self and teachings we have, 
looking backward through the clouds and 
gloom of ages, only glimpses, such as pris- 
oners get of sky and stars gazing through 
dungeon bars, I told them of Light and 
Heat, the twin Angels unto men, born of 
Fire ; of that light which gives us knowl- 
edge of what is and reveals the exceed- 
ing beauty of the world, and of that heat 
which calls nature from her grave each 
spring, and brings to each root and germ 
and seed that has lain dead, a glorious 
resurrection ; and passing on and coming 
down to the hour that was and our own 
joys, I told them of wood and coal, of old- 
time fire-places and ovens, and of many 
homely things, such as were around them, 
unknown to-day to many and perhaps un- 
noted by those who know, but which once 
had high uses and close relation to happy 
human life ; and finally of wood as fuel and 
its ministrations to man's need and comfort. 
So I talked to them, half musingly, and 
when the end was, we all sat gazing silently 



268 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

into the fire and listening to the gusts that 
screeched and roared around the sharp 
edges of the old chimney top. 

Then, after a pause, the eldest of the 
class said, 

" Father, dear, how many kinds of woods 
do you think we have burned in the old 
Fire-Place this winter that were cut on 
the old farm here ? " 

And I, after brief pause, answered, 

** Perhaps twenty-five." 

And to this came the reply, positively 
spoken as by one who speaks with knowl- 
edge, 

"We have burned at least Forty-Two 
kinds of wood in this fire-place this winter." 

" Did I not know," I answered, " that 
your memory is good and that you have the 
fine habit of being accurate in your speech, 
I should certainly think that you were mis- 
taken. For though this part of New Eng- 
land is very rich in specimens of our native 
trees, especially of the deciduous class, and 
this old farm of ours is stocked with a great 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



269 



variety, still forty-two is a large number, and 
as none of you are sleepy as yet, you may, 
if you please, run over the list and I will 
keep the count." 

And this is the list which the Teacher 
wrote out as recited by his little pupil : 



LIST OF TREES CUT ON THE FARM AND 
BURNED IN OUR FIRE-PLACE. 



White oak 
Red oak 
Rock oak 
Yellow oak 
Pin oak 
Black oak 
Hard maple 
Soft maple 
Black birch 
White birch 
Yellow birch 
Black ash 
White ash 
Buttonball 
White wood 



Elm 
Willow 
Cherry- 
Wild Cherry 
Spruce 
Hemlock 
Butternut tree 
Pepperidge 
Red cedar 
White cedar 
Pine 

Black beech 
White beech 
Mottled beech 
Basswood 



270 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

Chestnut Balsam 

Dogwood White hickory 

Hornbeam Red hickory 

Witch-hazel Crab tree 

Iron-wood Quince 

Alder Plum tree 

Sassafras Horse chestnut 

Apple tree Mulberry 

Pear tree Hawthorn 

Peach tree Sumach 

" Fifty in all ! " I exclaimed as I totalized 
the column ; " and you have not only made 
good your statement but gone eight beyond 
it ; and I hope that during all your life you 
will be able in a like manner to make your 
statements good in respect to anything you 
are speaking of, and so establish a reputa- 
tion for conservative speaking ; for by so 
doing you will win the confidence of people 
and be trusted by them. For the tendency 
of the times runs toward looseness of think- 
ing and inaccuracy of statement, both of 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



271 



which are unscholarly and destructive of in- 
fluence. But one may know the names of 
trees and not really know much about 
them. For to know a tree thoroughly one 
must not only know its name but the form 
of it, and the peculiarities of its bark, and 
shape of its leaves, and the odor of it, the 
color of its smoke and flame ; for trees are 
individual as to these things, and we must 
have knowledge of them by the eye and 
nose and touch, to know them well. Many 
a dark night when trailing I have had to 
decide the points of the compass by the 
sense of touch ; for the north side of a tree 
does not feel to the hand as the south side 
of it does, and mosses will grow on the 
south side of it that never grow on the 
north side, as I have told you often. And 
now I wish you would tell me what you 
know about these trees individually, and if 
it shall appear that you have this full and 
rare knowledge of trees it will prove that 
you have in truth made a study of them 



2/2 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

and know what many people who regard 
themselves well informed do not know." 

And then the class went earnestly into 
the subject of trees and delighted the heart 
of their Teacher ; for they told me of the 
peculiarities and individualism of each 
tree, — of its trunk-form, the color and tex- 
ture of its bark, the odor and taste of its 
sap ; the shape of leaf and the color of it 
when the frost and dampness of autumn 
paint it ; of its product, whether nut or 
fruit or seed ; of the color of its flame and 
ash, and whether it gave forth smoke and 
noise in burning or burned with pure and 
noiseless combustion, and whether its foli- 
age was dense or scant and fell early or 
late ; and how even when at play outside 
the house they could tell what wood was 
burning by the smell and odor of the smoke 
that the chimney yielded to the wind and 
was blown across the playground. Of these 
and other signs and proofs that each tree 
was true to its own nature, not written in 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



73 



books, they told me, so that when they 
were done I told them that they did in- 
deed know much of trees and that the 
senses which God had given them had 
been well used. 

One day in autumn, when seated in a 
mass of yellow and russet-colored leaves, 
wind-blown to the angle of an old stone 
fence that looked southward, I said : 
" Come, children, tell me of the field 
flowers, medicinal herbs and sweet smelling 
shrubs that you have found within the cir- 
cuit of your rambles this summer and which 
you could name by nose and taste had you 
no eyes ; for you know that your father 
holds that people study and learn too ex- 
clusively with the eye and too little with 
the other senses." 

And on a stray leaf from my pocket-book 
and with a little stumpy pencil they wrote out 
the following list of wild flowers, medicinal 
herbs, and sweet smelling shrubs which my 
pupils got knowledge of in their rambles. 



274 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



Wild Flowers, Medicinal Herbs, and 
Sweet Smelling Shrubs. 



Anemone 
Trailing arbutus 
Dandelion 
Strawberry 
Barberry 
Wood violets 
Wild rose 
Sweet briar 
Prince's pine 
Prince's feather 
Mullen 
Field lily 
Tiger lily 
Sweet fern 
Dewberry 
Bayberry 
Honeysuckle 
White water lily 
Buttercup 
Yellow water lily 
Spice bush 



Tansy 

Cranes-bill 

Sassafras 

Blood-root 

Sarsaparilla 

Sweet Cicily 

Elecampane 

Thoroughwort 

Penny-royal 

Catnip 

Spearmint 

Golden rod 

Peppermint 

Indian pipe 

Dogwood 

Tulip tree 

Blue-bell 

Thistle 

Gentian 

Pussy willow 

Daisy 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 



275 



'* Father dear, how much is a Greek 
stadium ? " asked a pupil one day during 
a wood ramble. 

"How long is this lath?" I answered, 
pointing to one that, by chance, lay on 
the ground near by. 

" Four feet," was the reply. 

"Very well," I returned. " Measure in a 
straight line one hundred and fifty-two times 
its length, and you will have pretty nearly 
the stadium of the Greeks." 

By this method they have mastered the 
measuring methods of the world both on 
land and sea. The inch, the foot, the ell, 
the yard, the rod, the mile, the fathom, the 
acre — each of these distances they have act- 
ually measured by foot rule, by yard stick, by 
steel tape, by estimate of actual pacing, and 
by mental estimate. Knowing the length 
of a fathom, and the addition of it up to 
1,000, having measured the distance them- 
selves and knowing from experience what 
a long one it is, they can form some idea 



2/6 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

of the vast depth of the ocean, to measure 
which the fathom is used. In this way they 
have learned distances and the measure- 
ment of them and found such development 
of faculty, of eye, of calculating sense, of 
reason and judgment, as one could not 
conceive of, unless with the exercises, he 
saw the corresponding development. And 
when the eldest of the class was able to go 
out into a field and pace off an acre of 
ground which when measured by the steel 
tape was seen to fall short of only a few 
feet, — well, had my treasures been laid up 
on earth I would have given her a thousand 
dollar check on the spot ! 

I regard Archery as a branch of mathe- 
matics. It deals with the law of gravita- 
tion, projectile force, the estimation of dis- 
tance, the direction and force of wind, the 
refraction of light and the calculation of 
curves. It calls for keenness of eye, steadi- 
ness of nerve, perfect self-possession, the 
entire concentration of one's powers on a 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 277 

single instant of time, firmness and elasti- 
city of muscle and lightning-like decision. 
The tableau which a bevy of healthy, hand- 
some girls presents to the eye when en- 
gaged at archery is of so fine a sort that 
memory ranks it, on the instant, as one 
of the choice pieces in her gallery. I 
have no prejudice against Fencing, but a 
liking for it rather ; nevertheless, for all- 
round efficiency in making a girl healthy, 
graceful, and beautiful it is altogether out- 
classed by bow practice. 

Archery is not a violent exercise and 
has no risks in it. It is an outdoor sport in 
the best sense of the word. It is, moreover, 
a social pastime. Wit, wisdom, merriment 
and innocent, amiable follies even, are not 
under ban in it. Its equipment is not 
costly. Historically it is rich in glorious 
association and reminiscence. What battles 
have not been won by the bow ; what gener- 
ous rivalry shown, what liberties defended, 
what tyrants overthrown ? In all their 



2/8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

games, amusements, and exercises I have 
made my little pupils familiar with the 
origin and history of each, what service it 
had rendered to men and what of value it 
would do for them, whenever possible con- 
necting it and them through it with English 
history and literature. And if there was 
any bit of descriptive prose or verse that 
would answer for a recitation they com- 
mitted it to memory and recited it. And 
by this method much of knowledge worth 
knowing has come to them and a vast 
amount of entertainment of a hig-her class 
than generally comes to children from the 
play-ground. And Conan Doyle, who, in 
his " White Company " has come nigh writ- 
ing a perfect story of its class, gave them, 
in his Bow Song, one of the recitations con- 
nected with archery which afforded them 
great delight and added zest to their prac- 
tice, which I insert, that it may be at the 
command of all children who may wish to 
memorize it. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 279 

The Song of the Bow. 

What of the Bow? 
The bow was made in England. 

Of true wood, 

Of yew wood, 
The wood of English bows. 

Chor2is. 
We'll drink all together, 
To the gray goose feather. 
And the land where the gray goose flew. 

What of the Cord ? 
The cord was made in England, 

A tough cord, 

A rough cord, 
The cord that bowmen love. 
Then we'll drain our jacks. 
To the English flax. 
And the land where the hemp was wove. 



28o HOW I EDUCATE AIY DAUGHTERS. 

What of the Shaft ? 
The shaft was made in England, 

A long shaft, 

A strong shaft, 
Barbed and trim and true. 

Chorus. 
We'll drink all together, 
To the gray goose feather, 
And the land where the gray goose flew. 

What of the men ? 
The men were bred in England, 

The Yeomen, 

The Bowmen, 
The lads of the dale and hill. 

Cho7^tis. 
We'll drink all together, 
To the gray goose feather, 
And the land where the gray goose flew. 

But of all outdoor exercises that they 
have enjoyed, the one that has given them 
the most pleasure, and perhaps most of 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 281 

health, strength, suppleness of body, grace 
of movement, self-confidence, quickness of 
eye and the power to decide what to do and 
how to do it on the instant, is Skating. I 
was a skater once myself and loved it as 
a bird loves flying ; and even now the old- 
time fervor lives in my veins, and once 
the steel is under me I glide from beneath 
the weight of years and am, in a flash, a 
boy again. God bless the skates and all 
skaters ; keep them from heavy falls and 
bring them, flushed and rosy, safely home 
from all venturing ! 

The little ones love skating with a pas- 
sion. In this, at least, that strange law or 
quality known as heredity, which brings to 
children in one hand helping and in the 
other hindrance, has proved a blessing to 
them. They skate as angels fly, because 
they are buoyant and can assume wings at 
will. Oh, it is a joy to see them come, wind 
blown, three airy forms of life, down the 
old pond, where Thomas Norton ground 
his grists two hundred and fifty years ago. 



282 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

And when the fairy triad form their sweet 
conspiracy to corner the big white-headed 
boy that's with them and skate him to 
the shore — well, then there is fun! And 
in answer to their sweet importunities and 
that their best enjoyed pastime might ever 
be linked in memory pleasantly with him 
who was their Teacher, and who perforce, 
by-and-by, must lay off skates and have 
done with skating, I wrote for them this 
little bit of description of their favorite 
exercise, that it might serve them for ver- 
bal and vocal practice in recitation. 

Skating. 
Was there ever such a delicious pastime ? 
It is the very coronation of sports. Come 
into this rink and stand a moment. See 
that skater there ; he in Trapper's costume, 
I mean. How easily his body swings 
along. How his lithe form sways to the 
curve he cuts. How suavely his physique 
yields to the enticing movement. Happy 
fellow. No thought, no care. The foot. 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 2S3 

armed with its blade of steel, lifts and 
places itself with the careless and easy per- 
fection of habit. His ankle knows no tre- 
mor ; the back no convulsive start ; there is 
no "catching of his balance," no nervous- 
ness of action ; but perfectly poised, he 
comes sailing along, as easily as a lazily 
moving Falcon blown across the meadow 
level by the pressure of a rising breeze. 

But a skater, like any other artist, has his 
moods. The skating Trapper there illus- 
trates this, for the motion which we were 
admiring, because of the graceful indolence 
of it, has suddenly changed. Look ! See 
how he flies ! He darts ; he shoots ; he 
flashes over the ice. How the steel plates 
ring ! How the white foam spurts as the 
edged steel cleaves its swift course along the 
green surface ! How the rink resounds to 
the shock of the rapid strokes, until the 
frosty roof echoes to it ! See him vault into 
the air. Is he winged ? Can he fly ? Look 
at that ! Did a gust lift him up and whirl 
him around like a leaf ? Heavens ! See 



284 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

him come ! Can a body of flesh and blood 
fly like that ? Or is this skating Trapper a 
form from the spirit world blown through 
the air by the energy of invisible winds ? 
What is there in a bar of steel, lashed to a 
foot, that can make a man like a bird ? 
Stopped ! Had my eyes not seen I would 
not have believed. 

How did he stop ? Tell me that. Why, 
a bird cannot stop without a curve or an 
upward swoop from the line of his flight. 
But he, that skating Trapper, while in the 
very middle of his career and at its swiftest 
point, when he was flying so that an arrow 
could not catch him, lifted his foot, struck 
the ice one blow, and stood. 

Another mood. He simply lifts his skate 
and movement comes to him. Behold him 
now sweep the circumference from shore to 
shore ; his body rises and sinks, sways and 
swings in easy undulations. Ha ! Watch 
him. See what he is doing. For even as 
an eagle begins to soar, drawing a circle 
whose diameter is twice a thousand feet 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 285 

and on this builds his aerial spiral, narrow- 
ing his circling as he rises, until, above the 
passing cloud, he makes the apex of his 
mighty cone and stands hovering ; so, yon 
skating Trapper, as he swings gracefully 
around the rink, draws in the line of his 
movement, until, lifted on the toe of his 
skate, he stands at the center of his circle 

— spinning ! 

But we must away. The moon is on the 
mountain and the toboggan waits. Ait 
revoir, young Trapper, Thou hast taught 
a thousand people to-night the power of 
will, the value of practice, the beauty of 
graceful movement, and the glory of a 
healthy body. I will join thee some even- 
ing and I will bring my skates along too 

— the old skates that, like their owner, 
are twenty years older than when he first 
strapped them on — and I will try some 
of the tricks of fancy skating with thee. 
Augh ! The devil take thee, thou imp 
of rheumatism or of gout, I know not 
which, I'll skate the boy, I say, in spite 



286 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

of all the kinks and twinges thou canst 
put into these legs of mine ; aye, and 
skate him to the shore, see if I don't 

l'envoi. 

There is a personage known to Authors 
as the publisher. He is base-minded. He 
looks upon a book with a cold, calculating, 
fish-like eye. Neither its humor nor its 
pathos nor the author's object moves him. 
To him a book is made to sell and yield 
profit to his purse. Ergo, it must be of a 
certain size, of a certain style, and be pro- 
duced at a certain cost. One page beyond 
the foreordained number is so much net 
loss. This is why the Publication Houses 
of the country are " sincerely protective of 
the author's reputation and ambitious to 
advance the best interests of American 
Literature ! " 

My publisher has spoken ! He writes : 
"My Dear Sir, — The MSS. you have for- 
warded us will make at least ten pages 
beyond the original estimate. Farther ad- 



HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 287 

ditions will endanger all possibility of profits 
to you or us from its publication." 

My publisher, as you must realize, dear 
reader, is a man of humor. I can see the 
twinkle in his eye as he wrote " profits to 
you " ! If James T. Field, that prince of 
litterateurs and saint among publishers, 
were here with me, what a laugh we two 
would have over that sentence ! Profits to 
a poor author from his book ! That's rich. 

But one profit has come to me already, 
and larger ones will come if, being spared 
from ill, the work of carrying on and up 
the education of these dear and clever 
children proceeds, and in another volume 
the record of method, manner, and re- 
sults in larger and nobler fields of study 
be written down. The companionship of 
quick and eager minds, wishful of learn- 
ing ; the spectacle of daily development in 
knowledge, grace, and growing power to 
do and charm, and the hope that many, 
reading what I tell, whether parent or 
professional teacher, will be cheered and 



288 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 

quickened to wise and stronger effort to 
make the dear ones in their charge at- 
tain the true object of education, which 
is, as I apprehend it, to make a child 
love Father, Mother, Home, Country, and 
God, more : if this is not the object of 
all education I know not what object it 
may have. Au revoh\ 

W. H. H. Murray. 

The Murray Homestead, 
Guilford, Conn. 



ifonaacKj iviurray s 



«^ Sati0txaX gtlitoix ^-m 



only authoriied edition of his writings especially and finally 
enlarged and revised by him for publication. 



ADIRONDACK TALES. 

Vol. I. The Story of the Man who didn't know much. 

Vol. II. The Story of the Man who Missed it. 

The Story that the Keg told me. 

Who were they? and 

The Old Trapper's Thanksgiving Party. 
Vol. III. Holiday Tales (Illustrated): 

How John Norton, the Trapper, kept his 
Christmas. 

John Norton's Vagabond, and 

The Old Trapper's Thanksgiving in the City. 
Vol. IV. Stories of Description and Humor. 



CANADIAN IDYLS. 

Vol. V. Mamelons and Ungava, with a historical intro- 
duction and supplementary notes. 



Vol. VI. Sermons, Lectures, and Addresses. 
Vol. VII. The Old Apple Tree's Easter; or, 
A Tale of Nature's Resurrection. 
Vol. VIII. How I am Educating my Daughters; or, 

A practical illustration of what can be done in 
development of their loved ones by Parents 
at Home. 



For infofmation regarding any of M r. Muway^s works, address 
the author, personallyp Guilford, Conn. 



MAR 26 1902 






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